AMONG  THE  JEWS 


■itJ*ALlL  E.  KRETZMANN 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


EDUCATION 
AMONG  THE  JEWS 


FROM  THE  EARLIEST  TIMES  TO  THE  END 
OF    THE    TALMUDIC     PERIOD,    500    A.    D. 


PAUL  E.  KRETZMANN,  Ph.  D. 


BOSTON 

THE   TALMUD    SOCIETY 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,   1922,   by 
The  Talmud  Society 


LA 

INTRODUCTION 

In  publishing  this  little  booklet,  the  author  is 
very  well  aware  that  he  is  placing  himself  in  the 
most  unfavorable  light  and  courting  the  most  ad- 
verse and  abject  criticism  of  so-called  scientific  schol- 
arship of  the  Bible.  But  he  freely  acknowledges 
and  proudly  confesses  his  absolute  rejection  of  all 
scientific  criticism  of  the  Bible  outside  of  textual  re- 
search and  stands  squarely  for  the  infallibility  of 
Holy  Scriptures.  The  Christ  Whose  words  even 
the  most  rabid  critics  admit  to  be  historically  true: 
"The  scripture  cannot  be  broken,"  John  10,35.  "Till 
heaven  and  earth  pass,  one  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  in 
no  wise  pass  from  the  law,  till  all  be  fulfilled," 
Matth.  5,18.,  was  either  what  He  claimed  to  be, 
the  eternal  Son  of  God,  Who  gladly  permitted  the 
attribute  of  Omniscience  to  be  ascribed  to  Him,  and 
Who  in  these  words  is  a  frank  exponent  of  the  in- 
fallibility, of  Holy  Scriptures,  or  He  was  the  most 
despicable  hypocrite  and  cheat  the  world  has  ever 
known.  And  I  confess  that  I  believe  it  far  better 
to  stand  with  Him  foursquare  against  all  criticism 
of  His  eternal  word,  which  is  the  revelation  of  His 
divine  Essence,  than  to  stand  on  the  uncertain 
ground  of  modern  Biblical  criticism  and  degenerate 
into  a  vapid  spouter  of  moral  platitudes.  Much  bet- 
ter by  far  to  accept  the  inspired  Scriptural  account 
of  the  creation  of  the  world  and  of  the  history  of 


t>n^ui'^:.ni 


the  Jewish  people  word  for  word  which  has  stood 
the  test  of  the  ages  and  endured  the  vain  mutterings 
of  foolish  criticism  both  here  and  abroad  than  to  ac- 
cept the  inane  theory  of  a  so-called  cosmic  evolu- 
tion. Which  is  the  more  reasonable  and  more  con- 
formable with  common  sense:  the  plain,  unadorned 
Scriptural  account  that  bears  on  its  face  the  stamp  of 
veracity,  or  the  bolstered-up  bombast  of  the  forfend- 
ers  of  evolutionistic  doctrines?  The  author's  stand 
will  not  be  misconstrued  by  people  that  have  made 
a  study  of  both  sides  of  the  question.  In  any  ques- 
tion pertaining  to  this  world's  wisdom  I  believe  in 
research  and  criticism  to  the  full  extent,  but  far  be 
it  from  me  to  profane  the  Holy  Book  of  God  with 
sacrilegious  hands.  So  much  for  the  spirit  in  which 
the  author  has  used  the  Bible  as  source  material. 

So  far  as  the  subject  matter  is  concerned,  the 
word  education  is  here  used  in  its  widest  sense,  in- 
cluding the  entire  bringing-up  of  the  children,  at 
home  as  well  as  in  the  school.  Only  in  this  way 
may  justice  be  done  to  the  people  whose  educational 
history  is  here  briefly  outlined. 

The  form  may  seem  clumsy  to  the  casual  reader, 
but  it  will  certainly  aid  in  reference  work,  since  the 
periods  treated  are  those  of  Hasting's  Bible  Dic- 
tionary. 

The  author  freely  acknowledges  his  indebtedness 
to  the  Rev.  Prof.  W.  H.  T.  Dau,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
for  looking  over  the  manuscript. 

St.  Paul,  Minn.,  June,  1915. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I     THE  NATIVE  PERIOD   9 

From  the  Earliest  Times  to  the  Division 
of  the  Kingdom,  953,   B.   C. 

a.  Before  the  Flood. 

b.  The  Patriarchal  Period. 

c.  The  Time  of  the  Judges. 

d.  The  Time  of  David  and  Solomon. 
Education  During  the  Native  Period. 

II    THE    PROPHETIC    PERIOD,    953- 

586-B.  C 30 

Historical  Survey. 

Education  During  the  Prophetic  Period. 

III  THE  EXILIC  PERIOD,  586-536-B.  C.  42 

From  the  Taking  of  the  Last  Band  of 
Jews  into  Babylonia  to  the  Return 
of  the  First  Exiles. 

Historical  Survey. 

Education   during  the  Exilic  Period. 

IV  THE    PERSIAN    PERIOD,    538-332- 

B.C...... 47 

Brief   Historical  Survey. 

Education   During  the  Persian   Period. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

V    THE  HELLENIC  PERIOD,  332-165- 

B.  C 53 

From  the  Conquest  of  Judea  by  Alexander 
the  Great  to  the  Defeat  of  the  Syrians 
by  Judas  Maccabeus. 
Historical  Survey. 

VI     THE  MACCABEAN   PERIOD,    165- 

63-B.  C 61 

From  the  Defeat  of  the  Syrians  by  Judas 
Maccabeus  to  the  Conquest  of  Jeru- 
salem  by   Pompey. 
Historical   Summary. 
Education  during  the  Maccabean  Period. 

VII     THE  ROMAN  PERIOD,  63-B.  C.-70 

A.  D 64 

Historical  Summary. 
The    Talmudic   Period. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY    98 


Education  Among  the  Jews 


THE  NATIVE  PERIOD 

From  the  Earliest  Times  to  the  division  of 
THE  Kingdom,  953  B.  C. 

(a)  Before  the  Flood 

THE  history  of  the  Jewish  people,  if  we 
may  speak  of  them  as  such  at  this  time 
of  the  world,  is  told  briefly  in  the  first 
six  chapters  of  Genesis.  In  this  age  of 
the  infancy  of  the  world,  there  is  no  record  of  any 
special  transmittance  of  knowledge,  of  any  system  of 
education.  That  the  history  of  the  first  people  was 
handed  down,  by  tradition,  from  father  to  son,  is, 
of  course,  very  evident  from  the  preserved  narra- 
tive. And  that  the  moral  precepts  and  the  Gospel 
news  of  salvation  were  transmitted  in  much  the 
same  manner,  appears  from  Gen.  4,26:  "Men  began 
to  proclaim  the  name  of  the  Lord."  That  the  tradi- 
tions were  discussed  quite  freely  and  were  made  a 
basis  of  fervent  hope,  is  shown  in  the  case  of  Eve, 
9 


lo    EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

Gen.  4,1 ;  "I  have  gained  (by  creative  bearing)  a 
man — the  Lord,"  and  that  of  Lamech,  who  said, 
after  the  birth  of  Noah:  "This  same  shall  comfort 
us  concerning  our  work  and  toil  of  our  hands,  be- 
cause of  the  ground  which  the  Lord  hath  cursed," 
Gen.  5,  29.  Both  of  these  expressions  have  the 
same  motive,  the  hope  in  the  coming  Messiah,  the 
seed  of  the  woman.  Whether  the  various  kinds  of 
handicraft  and  arts,  which  had  their  inception  in 
these  early  days,  such  as  the  music  of  Jubal  and  the 
brass-and  ironwork  of  Tubalcain,  were  transmitted 
by  any  method  but  that  of  teaching  the  craft  to  the 
sons,  is  not  apparent,  although  Jubal  is  called  the 
father  of  all  such  as  handle  the  harp  and  organ.  Gen. 
4,  21.  Whether  Lamech,  on  account  of  his  poetical 
couplets,  Gen.  4,  23,  24,  is  to  be  regarded  as  the 
father  of  poetry,  is  a  question  which  has  often  been 
discussed.  Owing  to  the  meagre  source  material, 
definite  conclusions  can  hardly  be  drawn. 

(  b  )    The  Patriarchal  Period 

After  the  flood  and  the  subsequent  confusion  of 
tongues,  the  real  history  of  the  Jewish  people  opens 
with  the  journey  of  Abram,  afterwards  Abraham, 
from  Mesopotamia  to  the  Land  of  Promise.  His 
sojourn  there  was  marked  by  various  incidents, 
chief  of  which  was  the  birth  of  Isaac.    The  blessing 


THE  NATIVE  PERIOD  n 

of  Abraham  was  transmitted  by  Isaac  to  Jacob,  the 
second  son  of  Rebecca,  who  thereupon  had  to  flee  to 
Mesopotamia.  The  sons  of  Jacob  became  the  fore- 
fathers of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  Joseph,  one 
of  these  sons,  became  the  savior  of  his  brothers  dur- 
ing the  great  famine  and  obtained  for  them  and 
their  children  a  place  of  refuge  in  the  land  of  Gosh- 
en. For  several  centuries  the  children  of  Israel 
lived  in  Egypt,  until,  with  a  change  in  the  reigning 
dynasty,  there  came  a  crisis  in  the  affairs  of  the  peo- 
ple. Moses  became  the  leader  of  his  brethren,  led 
them  out  of  the  house  of  bondage  and  to  the  very 
borders  of  Palestine. 

(c)    The  Time  of  the  Judges 

Joshua  took  the  place  of  Moses  at  the  boundary  of 
the  new  country.  Under  his  leadership  the  tribes 
which  inhabited  the  land  were  subjugated  and  the 
country  divided  among  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel, 
Judah  and  Benjamin  occupying  the  southern  part, 
Reuben,  Gad,  and  Manasseh  principally  the  land 
east  of  the  Jordan,  and  Asher,  Dan,  Ephraim,  Is- 
sachar,  Naphtali,  Simeon,  and  Zebulun,  the  north- 
ern and  eastern  part.  The  form  of  government  at 
this  time  was  theocratic,  the  people  being  guided 
entirely  by  the  laws  and  ordinances  which  Moses  had 
delivered  to  them.    Although  the  tribes  had  received 


12     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

the  command  to  annihilate  the  heathen  nations,  some 
of  these  had  been  spared.  And  these  were  the  very 
ones  that  made  constant  inroads  upon  the  country, 
harassing  the  inhabitants  and  plundering  and  rob- 
bing their  property.  At  such  times  Judges  (Saviors) 
were  called  to  lead  the  people  against  the  enemy. 
This  entire  period  was  a  time  of  unrest,  of  an  at- 
tempt to  accommodate  themselves  to  new  conditions 
The  unfortunate  ones  that  had  been  held  in  the  serf- 
dom of  Egypt,  had  all  died  in  the  wilderness;  their 
children  occupied  the  Land  of  Promise,  they  were 
obliged  to  become  accustomed  both  to  liberty  and  to 
self-government,  or  rather  self-restraint.  Under  such 
conditions  a  well-ordered  community  can  hardly  be 
conceived  of. 

{d)    The  Time  of  David  and  Solomon 

With  the  growing  prosperity  of  the  people  and  the 
feeling  of  national  power  there  came  the  demand 
for  a  king,  as  all  the  heathen  about  them  had.  Sam- 
uel, who  at  that  time  was  the  spiritual  leader  of  the 
people,  was  very  angry  with  them  for  the  request 
they  voiced.  But  his  objections  were  overruled  and 
Saul  was  chosen  by  lot  as  the  first  king  of  the  Jewish 
nation.  The  beginning  of  his  reign  was  very  success- 
ful, but  after  a  few  years  he  turned  aside  from  the 
divine  ways.    This  apostasy,  together  with  the  wars 


THE  NATIVE  PERIOD  13 

against  the  heathen  nations  and  the  persecutions  of 
David,  made  the  last  years  of  his  reign  more  of  a 
curse  than  a  blessing  for  Israel  and  hindered  the  de- 
velopment of  the  nation  perceptibly.  The  reign  of 
David,  second  king  of  Israel,  opened  rather  unfav- 
orably with  a  revolt  of  a  faction  of  Saul  and  wars 
against  the  Jebusites  and  other  heathen  nations.  The 
successful  termination  of  all  these  difficulties  gave 
David  a  position  of  power  and  gained  for  his  people 
an  era  of  prosperity  and  peace.  Moreover,  since 
David  himself  was  a  poet  and  writer  of  the  foremost 
rank,  he  very  greatly  favored  the  arts  and  sciences. 
This  happy  state  of  affairs  continued  and  became 
even  more  pronounced  during  the  reign  of  Solomon, 
the  "wise"  king.  His  accession  marked  the  begin- 
ning of  the  first  "golden  era"  of  the  Jewish  people. 
This  happy  state  was  not  to  endure  for  a  long  time 
though.  Rehoboam,  the  son  of  Solomon,  began  his 
reign  with  a  foolish  decision.  The  result  was  that 
ten  of  the  tribes  seceded  and  formed  a  kingdom  of 
their  own,  while  only  two,  Judah  and  Benjamin,  re- 
mained with  Rehoboam. 

Education  During  the  Native  Period 

As  stated  above,  the  history  of  the  Jewish  people 
really  begins  with  the  coming  of  Abraham  to  the 
Promised    Land.      Abraham   was    therefore   at    all 


14     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

times  looked  upon  as  the  father  of  the  Jews,  or  He- 
brews, as  they  were  called  very  early,  perhaps  in  al- 
lusion to  their  coming  across  the  river  Jordan.  And 
the  very  history  of  Abraham  furnishes  evidence  for 
the  early  germs  of  education  in  the  Jewish  people. 
If  Abraham  had  not  been  a  prince  of  royal  blood  or 
a  member  of  the  nobility  in  his  native  country,  Chal- 
dea,  he  at  least  had  been  a  member  of  a  prominent 
and  wealthy  family.  He  also  associated  on  terms 
of  equality  with  the  king  of  Egypt,  with  Melchize- 
dek,  the  king  of  Salem,  and  with  Abimelech,  the 
king  of  Gerar.  He  was  therefore  at  different  times 
of  his  life  in  close  contact  with  the  Chaldean,  with 
the  Egyptian,  and  with  the  Hittite  learning.  Now 
the  civilization  of  Babylonia  (Mesopotamia  and 
Chaldea)  was  at  that  time  very  far  advanced.  Read- 
ing and  writing  were  general  attainments  throughout 
the  country.  According  to  Prof.  Sayce,  schools  and 
libraries  were  flourishing  in  Babylonia  long  before 
Abraham  was  born,  and  the  arts  and  sciences  were 
fostered.  The  Babylonia  of  the  age  of  Abraham 
was  a  more  highly  educated  country  than  the  Eng- 
land of  George  III.  The  same  was  true  of  Egypt. 
The  country  was  full  of  schools  and  libraries,  of 
teachers  and  pupils,  of  poets  and  prose  writers,  and 
of  literary  works  which  they  had  composed.  The 
man  of  business,  the  wealthier  fellaheen,  even  to 
overseers   of   the   workmen,    were   acquainted    with 


THE  NATIVE  PERIOD  15 

the  hieroglyphic  system  of  writing  and  the  hieratic  or 
cursive  hand  which  had  developed  out  of  it.  No  one 
could  live  in  Egypt  without  coming  under  the  spell 
of  its  literary  culture.  As  to  the  Hittites  finally, 
whose  very  existence  was  denied  a  few  years  ago,  re- 
cent explorations  and  excavations  have  proved  defi- 
nitely that  this  people  also  possessed  a  high  degree 
of  learning  and  exerted  a  more  or  less  pronounced 
influence  on  some  of  the  nations  with  whom  they 
came  in  contact.  The  possibility  of  Abraham's  hav- 
ing remained  uninfluenced  by  the  culture  with  which 
he  was  in  almost  continual  contact,  can  hardly  be 
conceived  of.  Josephus  even  goes  so  far  as  to  say: 
"He  (Abraham)  communicated  to  them  (the  Egj'p- 
tians)  arithmetic  and  delivered  to  them  the  science 
of  astronomy;  for,  before  Abram  came  into  Egypt, 
they  were  unacquainted  with  those  parts  of  learning" 
(Antiq.  of  the  Jews,  Book  I,  Ch.  VIII,  2).  The 
Jewish  people  then  present  the  somewhat  unique  ex- 
ample of  having  as  their  progenitor  a  wealthy,  influ- 
ential, and  highly  cultured  man,  whose  influence 
along  educational  lines  was  bound  to  be  most  marked. 
The  following  patriarchs,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  occu- 
pied a  position  which  was  hardly  less  prominent. 
Neither  were  their  relations  with  the  heathen  na- 
tions less  significant  or  without  permanent  influence. 
And  while  it  may  readily  be  admitted  that  the  no- 
madic life  of  the  sons  of  Jacob  as  well  as  the  sojourn 


i6     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

in  Egypt  were  not  conducive  to  literary  and  artis- 
tic advancement,  it  must  be  remembered,  on  the  oth- 
er hand,  that  both  Joseph  and  Moses  received,  the 
former  a  part,  the  latter  all  of  his  training,  at  Helio- 
polis,  the  college  city  of  Egypt.  Of  Moses  espec- 
ially it  was  said  that  he  was  learned  in  all  the  wis- 
dom of  the  Egyptians,  and  was  mighty  in  words  and 
in  deeds.  Acts  7,  22.  It  is  also  hardly  conceivable 
that  a  contact  with  the  learning  of  Egypt,  which 
lasted  for  several  centuries,  should  not  have  left  its 
impression  on  the  young  nation  in  its  own  country. 
During  the  centuries  when  the  Jews  were  without  a 
stable  government,  the  efforts  to  establish  and  main- 
tain an  educational  system  may  indeed  have  been 
more  or  less  desultory,  but  the  strength  of  the  hier- 
archical system  as  well  as  the  principle  of  the  theo- 
cracy, at  least  outwardly  upheld,  may  be  cited  as  an 
argument  in  favor  of  at  least  a  partial  educational 
system  as  well  as  one  against  general  education. 
Jewish  tradition  has  it  that  there  were  regular  es- 
tablished schools  as  early  as  the  time  of  Isaac,  and 
that  Jacob  and  Esau  both  attended  the  primary 
school.  We  have  no  way  of  either  substantiating  or 
disproving  tradition  on  this  score.  Skeptics  may  dis- 
claim the  very  possibility  of  so  great  an  achieve- 
ment at  so  early  a  date.  But  it  will  always  be  well 
to  remember  that  an  argument  "e  silentio"  has  very 
little  in  its  favor,  while  the  fact  that  the  patriarchs 


THE  NATIVE  PERIOD  17 

had  a  household  embracing  several  hundred  souls 
and  could  very  well  enjoy  the  services  of  stewards, 
would  surely  not  preclude  the  possibility  of  their  em- 
ploying a  teacher  for  their  clan.  And  if  so  much 
may  be  said  in  favor  of  a  well-developed  educational 
system  at  so  early  a  date,  the  assumption  of  at  least 
a  rudimentary  stage  in  education  at  the  time  of  the 
Judges  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  too  daring.  The 
factors  favoring  a  more  thorough  establishment  of 
an  educational  system  with  the  beginning  of  the 
Monarchial  Period  have  been  outlined  above.  Every- 
thing that  is  related  of  David  and  Solomon  makes 
the  probability  of  their  having  been  the  patrons  of 
the  arts  and  sciences  more  certain.  The  "golden  era" 
was  one  of  peace,  not  war. 

After  this  preliminary  general  survey  we  are  now 
prepared  to  understand  the  specific  instances  of  ed- 
ucational references  in  the  historical  books  of  the 
Jews  pertaining  to  this  time. 

The  very  high  regard  in  which  the  Jews  held 
children  as  gifts  of  God  and  their  earnest  and  pray- 
erful longing  for  offspring  colored  and  influenced 
their  whole  life.  Eve's  joyous  cry  at  the  birth  of 
Cain:  "I  have  gotten  a  man  from  the  Lord,"  Gen. 
4,  I,  is  usually  cited  as  an  instance  of  the  longing  of 
the  people  of  the  old  covenant  for  the  promised 
Messiah.  But  aside  from  this  evident  interpretation 
there  is  an  underlying  thought  which  voices  the  sen- 


i8     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

timent  of  the  mothers  of  the  old  covenant.  The  verb 
kanah  is  used  principally  of  supernatural,  creative 
begetting,  so  that  Eve's  thought  also  included :  The 
Lord  has  graciously  granted  to  me,  through  special 
creative  power,  a  son.  It  is  said  of  Jacob  Gen.  37)3* 
"Now  Israel  loved  Joseph  more  than  all  his  children, 
because  he  was  the  son  of  his  old  age."  The  fervent 
longing  and  earnest  supplication  of  Hannah,  the 
wife  of  Elkanah,  is  voiced  in  the  prayer  i  Sam.  i, 
1 1 :  "Give  unto  thine  handmaid  a  manchild."  So 
highly  did  Hannah,  together  with  the  other  women 
of  Israel,  value  the  gift  of  children,  that  her  barren- 
ness rested  upon  her  as  a  curse  of  God.  So  sincere 
was  her  longing  for  a  son  that  she  promised  in  a  vow 
that  she  would  give  back  her  son  to  the  Lord,  i.  e. 
that  she  would  have  him  trained  for  divine  service 
from  his  infancy.  And  she  fully  redeemed  her  vow 
when  she  brought  the  young  Samuel  to  the  priest  Eli 
at  the  tabernacle,  when  the  boy  was  but  three  years 
old.  Other  instances  illustrating  the  same  love  and 
longing  for  children  are  the  examples  of  Sarah,  Gen. 
1 6,  I,  2,  Rebeccah,  Gen.  25,  21,  Rachel,  Gen.  30, 
I,  Ruth,  Ruth  4,  13,  and  Michal,  2  Sam.  6,  23. 

But  not  only  in  these  specific  instances  is  the  high 
regard  and  the  tender  love  of  parents  toward  their 
children  set  forth,  but  also  in  passages  of  a  general 
nature,  thus  proving  conclusively  that  the  Jews  made 
this  a  basic  principle  in  their  national  life,    A  poem 


THE  NATIVE  PERIOD  19 

of  the  time  of  Solomon  contains  the  well-known 
lines:  "Lo,  children  are  an  heritage  of  the  Lord, 
and  the  fruit  of  the  womb  is  his  reward.  As  arrows 
in  the  hands  of  a  mighty  man,  so  are  children  of  the 
youth.  Happy  is  the  man  that  has  his  quiver  full 
of  them!"  Ps.  127,  3-5.  And  again:  "Thy  wife 
shall  be  as  a  fruitful  vine  by  the  sides  of  thy  house, 
thy  children  like  olive  plants  round  about  thy  table. 
Behold  that  thus  shall  be  blessed  the  man  that 
feareth  the  Lord.  .  .  .  Yea,  thou  shalt  see 
thy  children's  children,  and  peace  upon  Israel!"  Ps. 
128,  3,  4,  6.  The  same  sentiment  is  voiced  Prov. 
3,  12b,  where  a  father  is  spoken  of  as  delighting  in 
his  son.  The  verb  razah  used  here  means  'to  love, 
to  be  well  pleased  with.'  It  is  represented  as  a  pater- 
nal trait  of  character,  as  a  foregone  conclusion  that 
a  parent  love  his  son  and  take  delight  and  pride  in 
him. 

In  thorough  accordance  with  this  position  of  the 
parents  we  find  the  attitude  of  the  children  toward 
their  parents  and  toward  all  those  in  authority. 
When,  after  the  incident  at  Shechem,  Jacob  re- 
proved his  sons,  they  accepted  the  rebuke,  thus  recog- 
nizing their  father's  authority.  Gen.  34,  30.  The 
motive  that  prompted  Joseph  to  bring  the  evil  re- 
port of  his  brothers  before  the  father,  was  doubtless 
principally  one  of  loyalty  to  authority,  Gen.  37,  2. 
When  all  the  sons  and  daughters  rose  up  to  com- 


20     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

fort  Jacob,  there  was  as  much  recognition  of  his  po- 
sition as  remorse  for  their  evil  deed  in  their  action, 
Gen.  37,  30.  When  the  Jews  received  the  Law  by 
the  hands  of  Moses,  they  were  not  left  in  doubt  as 
to  the  authority  which  God  had  given  the  parents. 
The  commandment  of  the  Decalogue  reads:  "Honor 
thy  father  and  thy  mother,  that  thy  days  may  be 
long  upon  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth 
thee,"  Ex.  20,  12.  This  is  emphasized  Lev.  19,  3: 
"Ye  shall  fear  every  man  his  mother  and  his  father," 
and  repeated  Deut.  5,  16:  "Honor  thy  father  and 
thy  mother,  as  the  Lord  thy  God  hath  commanded 
thee."  In  conformity  with  these  commandments 
we  read :  "My  son,  keep  thy  father's  commandments, 
and  forsake  not  the  law  of  thy  mother:  Bind  them 
continually  upon  thy  heart,  and  tie  them  about  thy 
neck.  When  thou  goest  it  shall  lead  thee ;  when  thou 
sleepest,  it  shall  keep  thee,  and  when  thou  awakest, 
it  shall  talk  with  thee,"  Prov.  6,  20-22.  In  the 
same  way:  "Hearken  unto  thy  father  that  begat 
thee,  and  despise  not  thy  mother  when  she  is  old," 
Prov.  23,  22.  That  the  authority  of  the  parents 
was  sovereign,  is  evident  from  Prov.  19,  26:  "He 
that  wasteth  (shows  lack  of  respect  toward,  is  con- 
temptuous toward)  his  father  and  chaseth  away  his 
mother,  is  a  son  that  causeth  shame,  and  bringeth 
reproach."  And  again  Prov.  28,  24:  "Whoso  rob- 
beth  his  father  and  his  mother  and  saith:    It  is  no 


THE  NATIVE  PERIOD  21 

transgression,  the  same  is  the  companion  of  a  de- 
troyer." 

These  principles  necessitated  the  maintenance  of 
the  strictest  and  most  uncompromising  discipline. 
The  first  step  in  discipline  was  earnest  admonition, 
reprimand,  and  reproof.  Prov.  i,  8:  "My  son, 
hear  the  instruction  (Hebr.  musar,  admonition)  of 
thy  father,  and  forsake  not  the  law  of  thy  mother." 
Prov.  13,1:  "A  wise  son  heareth  his  father's  instruc- 
tion; but  a  scorner  heareth  not  rebuke  (German: 
Der  Spoetter  hoert  nicht  auf  Verweise).-'  Prov. 
15,  5:  "A  fool  despiseth  his  father's  instruction; 
but  he  that  regardeth  reproof  is  prudent."  Prov.  3, 
12:  "Whom  the  Lord  loveth  He  correcteth"  (jakah, 
Greek  paideuo).  Prov.  6,  23b:  "Reproofs  of  in- 
struction are  the  way  of  life"  (rebuking  reprimands, 
Greek:  kai  elegchos  kai  paideia;  French:  les  remon- 
strances de  la  discipline). 

If  reprimands  and  remonstrances  proved  futile, 
the  next  step  in  discipline  was  corporal  punishment, 
usually  in  the  form  of  whipping.  Prov.  13,  24: 
"He  that  spareth  his  rod  hateth  his  son,  but  he  that 
loveth  him  chasteneth  him  betimes."  Such  pun- 
ishing should,  however,  be  done  without  carnal  an- 
ger and  in  moderation.  Prov.  19,  18:  "Chasten  thy 
son  why  there  is  hope,  and  let  not  thy  soul  spare  for 
his  crying"  (Hebr.:  but  to  kill  him  let  not  thy  soul 
be  driven).     Prov.  22,  15:  "Foolishness  is  bound  in 


22     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

the  heart  of  a  child,  but  the  rod  of  correction  shall 
drive  it  far  from  him."  Prov.  23,  13,  14:  "With- 
hold not  correction  from  the  child :  for  if  thou  beat- 
est  him  with  a  rod,  he  shall  not  die.  Thou  shalt 
beat  him  with  a  rod  and  shalt  deliver  his  soul  from 
hell."  Prov.  29,  15,  17:  "The  rod  and  reproof 
give  wisdom,  but  a  child  left  to  himself  bringeth  his 
mother  to  shame.  Correct  (punish)  thy  son,  and 
he  shall  give  thee  rest,  yea,  he  shall  give  delight  unto 
thy  soul."  It  was  an  exceedingly  wise  provision  that 
punishment  of  this  kind  was  to  be  tempered  with 
wisdom  and  moderation,  having  in  mind  always  the 
end  to  be  gained,  the  welfare  of  the  child  and  of 
the  whole  community,  rather  than  a  base  desire  for 
vengeance  or  the  venting  of  a  spite. 

When  even  the  harsher  methods  failed,  then  the 
final  step  was  expulsion  and  exile,  and  even  death. 
The  latter  punishment,  however,  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  community  or  government,  the  parents  them- 
selves having  no  jurisdiction  over  life  and  death.  In 
the  case  of  the  unruly  Ishmael  in  the  house  of 
Abraham,  Sarah's  request  was  brief  and  to  the  point: 
"Cast  out  this  bondwoman  and  her  son,  for  the  son 
of  this  bondwoman  shall  not  be  heir  with  my  son," 
Gen.  21,  10.  Deut.  27,  16:  "Cursed  be  he  that  set- 
teth  light  by  his  father  or  mother,"  Prov.  20,  20: 
"Whoso  curseth  his  father  or  his  mother,  his  lamp 
shall  be  put  out  in  obscure  darkness."     It  is  not  evi- 


THE  NATIVE  PERIOD  23 

dent  from  the  text  whether  a  general  curse  is  here 
pronounced,  or  whether  the  specific  punishment  is 
exile  or  death.  That  the  final,  most  severe  punish- 
ment was  by  no  means  beyond  the  pale  of  possibility, 
appears  from  several  passages,  for  which  no  claim  of 
ambiguity  may  be  advanced.  Prov.  30,  17:  "The 
eye  that  mocketh  at  his  father,  and  despiseth  to  obey 
his  mother,  the  ravens  of  the  valley  shall  put  it  out, 
and  the  young  eagles  shall  eat  it."  The  instances, 
in  which  capital  punishment  was  prescribed  by  God, 
are  carefully  enumerated.  Ex.  21,  15,  17:  "He  that 
smiteth  his  father  or  his  mother,  shall  be  surely  put 
to  death.  He  that  curseth  his  father  or  his  mother, 
shall  surely  be  put  to  death."  Lev.  20,  9:  "For  every 
one  that  curseth  his  father  or  his  mother,  shall  be 
surely  put  to  death ;  he  hath  cursed  his  father  or  his 
mother:  his  blood  shall  be  upon  him."  In  Deut.  21, 
18-21,  the  entire  mode  of  procedure  in  a  case  of  this 
kind  is  outlined.  A  stubborn  and  rebellious  son  was 
to  be  brought  to  the  elders  of  the  city  in  the  gate, 
where  the  formal  accusation  and  condemnation 
should  be  made,  "and  all  the  men  of  his  city  shall 
stone  him  with  stones,  that  he  die:  so  shalt  thou 
put  evil  away  from  among  you,  and  all  Israel  shall 
hear,  and  fear." 

With  such  strict  discipline  it  was  inevitable  that 
good  results  were  obtained,  at  least  in  outward  drill, 
in  training  by  rote.     Instruction  in  the  fundamentals 


24    EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

of  the  Law  or  moral  training  was  the  basis  of  edu- 
cation. Prov.  I,  1-6  speaks  in  general  of  instruc- 
tion in  wisdom,  justice,  judgment,  and  equity.  So 
far  as  moral  efficiency  and  breadth  of  view  is  con- 
cerned, this  would  make  an  excellent  basis  for  Mil- 
ton's requirement.  Prov.  2,  lO,  ii :  "When  wisdom 
entereth  into  thine  heart,  and  knowledge  is  pleasant 
unto  thy  soul;  discretion  shall  preserve  thee,  under- 
standing shall  keep  thee."  Prov.  4,  5 :  "Get  wisdom, 
get  understanding,  forget  it  not."  Prov.  16,  16: 
"How  much  better  it  is  to  get  wisdom  than  gold! 
and  to  get  understanding  rather  to  be  chosen  than 
silver."  These  texts  are  so  general  that  it  hardly 
seems  possible  to  limit  them  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
Law  alone,  although  indeed  Ps.  iii,  10,  says:  "The 
fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom,  a 
good  understanding  have  all  they  that  do  his  com- 
mandments." And  Job  28,  28:  "Unto  man  he 
said:  Behold  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  that  is  wisdom, 
and  to  depart  from  evil  is  understanding."  Religious 
teaching  and  moral  training  were  the  basis,  the  very 
foundation  of  education  among  the  Jews  in  this 
period.  The  precepts  of  the  books  of  this  period  have 
set  the  standard  of  morality  for  the  whole  world. 
The  virtues  that  were  emphasized  and  lauded  in 
these  books  have  received  the  approval  of  the  ages, 
and  the  vices  there  condemned  are  considered  so  uni- 
versally to  this  day.    The  praise  of  an  ideal  house- 


THE  NATIVE  PERIOD  25 

wife  Prov.  31,  10-31  is  called  the  golden  ABC  of 
the  wedded  woman  and  regarded  as  the  best  presen- 
tation of  so  comprehensive  a  subject  that  has  ever 
appeared. 

But  while  the  ancient  Jews  thus  made  religious 
training  the  basic  principle  of  their  education,  they 
did  not  neglect  secular  teaching.  The  art  of  writ- 
ing and  therefore  also  of  reading  was  undoubtedly 
known  to  Abraham,  as  shown  above,  and  there  are 
evidences  throughout  this  period  that  it  was  a  very 
general  accomplishment.  Joseph  in  Egypt  (Gen. 
41,  49)  surely  made  use  of  it.  Moses  wrote  the 
words  of  the  Law  at  the  command  of  God,  Ex.  17, 
14.  Ex.  24,  4.  Deut.  31,  9,  22,  So  general  was 
this  attainment  that  the  command  was  given  to  all 
Israelites:  "Thou  shalt  write  them  (the  words  of 
the  Law)  upon  the  door-posts  of  thy  house,  and 
upon  thy  gates,"  Deut.  11,  20.  Moses  also  com- 
manded the  people  to  set  up  great  stones,  when  they 
had  come  into  the  Promised  Land,  "and  thou  shalt 
write  upon  them  all  the  words  of  this  law,  when 
thou  art  passed  over,"  Deut.  27,  2,  3.  The  passage 
Joshua  4  does  not  in  any  way  conflict  with  this  state- 
ment, because  the  stones  spoken  of  there  were  merely 
monuments.  The  men  whom  Joshua  sent  out  de- 
scribed the  land  in  a  book,  Josh.  18,  9.  Joshua  him- 
self wrote.  Josh.  24,  26.  Samuel  wrote,  i  Sam.  10, 
25.    The  Book  of  Jasher  was  written,  2  Sam.  1,18. 


26     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

David  wrote  a  letter,  2  Sam.  ii,  14-16.  That  there 
were  special  scribes  or  secretaries  at  that  time  (2 
Sam.  8,  17)  does  not  signify  any  more  than  it  does  at 
the  present  time.    See  also  Judges  8,  14. 

Where  writing  and  reading  were  such  general  ac- 
complishments it  is  hardly  conceivable  that  other 
branches  of  learning  should  have  been  neglected  en- 
tirely. From  the  exactness  of  descriptions  in  Exodus, 
Deuteronomy,  and  Joshua,  there  must  have  been 
some  knowledge  of  geography  during  this  period. 
There  was  also  at  least  some  knowledge  of  arithme- 
tic, if  not  of  geometry,  most  likely  also  of  astronomy 
(Job),  and  of  music  (i  Chron.  16,  42.     i  Chron. 

25). 

The  training  in  this  period,  at  least  in  the  earlier 
part,  so  far  as  is  apparent  from  Biblical  sources,  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  parents,  although  it  is  by  no 
means  improbable  that  there  were  special  teachers  or 
tutors  at  a  very  early  time.  Perhaps  it  was  held 
merely  that  the  parents  had  to  assume  all  responsi- 
bility for  the  training  of  their  children.  Gen.  18,  19, 
it  is  said  of  Abraham:  "I  know  he  will  command 
his  children  and  his  household  after  him,  and  they 
shall  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord,  to  do  justice  and 
judgment."  Deut.  6,  6,  7:  "And  these  words  which 
I  command  thee  this  day,  shall  be  in  thine  heart: 
and  thou  shalt  teach  them  diligently  unto  thy  chil- 
dren"  (drill  thy  children  in  them).     Deut.  11,  18- 


THE  NATIVE  PERIOD  27 

20:  "Therefore  shall  ye  lay  up  these  my  words 
in  your  heart  and  in  your  soul  .  .  .  and 
ye  shall  teach  them  your  children,  speaking  of 
them  when  thou  sittest  in  thine  house,  and 
when  thou  walkest  by  the  way,  when  thou 
liest  down,  and  when  thou  risest  up."  Ex.  10, 
2:  "That  thou  mayest  tell  in  the  ears  of  thy  son, 
and  of  thy  son's  son,  what  things  I  have  wrought  in 
Egypt."  Ps.  71,  18:  "O  God  forsake  me  not,  until 
I  have  shewed  thy  strength  unto  this  generation, 
and  thy  power  to  every  one  that  is  to  come."  Ps.  78, 
3,  4.  "I  will  utter  dark  sayings  of  old  which  we 
have  heard  and  known,  and  our  fathers  have  told  us. 
We  will  not  hide  them  from  their  children,  shewing 
to  the  generations  to  come  the  praises  of  the  Lord 
and  his  strength.  Vs.  6.  That  the  generations  to 
come  might  know  them,  even  the  children  which 
should  be  born ;  who  should  arise  and  declare  them 
to  their  children."  Prov.  22,  6:  "Train  up  a  child 
in  the  way  he  should  go;  and  when  he  is  old,  he  will 
not  depart  from  it."  This  passage  has  often  been 
misconstrued,  the  contention  being  that  the  text 
speaks  of  unfolding  or  developing  natural  gifts  and 
abilities.  But  an  examination  of  the  Hebrew  text 
shows  the  verb  chnnak,  which  can  be  understood  of 
initiatory  rites  only.  Besides,  the  passage  is  evident- 
ly objective.  The  German  translation:  Wie  man 
einen  Knaben  gewoehnt ;  and  the  French :  Instruis  le 


28     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

jeune  enfant  a  I'entree  de  sa  voie;  are  truer  to  the 
original. 

Outside  of  the  home,  education  was  to  some  ex- 
tent in  the  hands  of  the  priests.  Samuel  was  edu- 
cated by  Eli,  the  priest  at  Shiloh,  i  Sam.  2,  ii,  2i. 
The  Jewish  tradition  that  Samuel  established  pro- 
phet schools  at  Ramah  and  elsewhere,  seems  to  be 
borne  out  by  i  Sam.  lO,  lo,  and  i  Sam.  19,  19.  So 
far  as  private  teachers  or  tutors  are  concerned,  Nath- 
an seems  to  have  occupied  that  position  in  the  house 
of  David,  2  Sam.  12,  25. 

But  there  were  also  professional  teachers,  whether 
apart  from  the  hierarchy  or  not,  cannot  be  determ- 
ined definitely.  They  were  known  as  'teachers'  or 
'men  of  wisdom.'  Ps.  84,  7:  "The  teachers  are 
blessed  abundantly."  Ps.  119,  99,  icx):  "I  have  more 
understanding  than  all  my  teachers."  Ps.  141,  6: 
"When  their  judges  (wise  men)  are  overthrown  in 
stony  places."  Prov.  5,  13:  "Have  not  obeyed  the 
voice  of  my  teachers."  Prov.  13,  20:  "He  that 
walketh  with  wise  men  shall  be  wise." 

There  is  no  evidence  pointing  to  the  existence  of 
special  rooms  or  buildings  for  school  purposes,  al- 
though this  idea  would  not  be  excluded.  The  in- 
struction that  was  not  given  at  home  or  in  the  dwel- 
ling of  the  teacher,  may  well  have  been  imparted  in 
the  conversational  form,  as  indicated  in  some  of  the 
passages  above,  of  which  we  have  a  striking  example 


THE  NATIVE  PERIOD  29 

in  the  methods  of  Jesus  at  a  later  period.  The 
school  for  musicians  mentioned  above  was  in  Jeru- 
salem, since  its  purpose  was  to  train  singers  and  mu- 
sicians for  chorus  and  orchestra  work  in  connection 
with  the  liturgical  part  of  the  temple  services. 


II 

THE  PROPHETIC  PERIOD,  953-586  B.  C. 
Historical  Survey 

WITH  the  division  of  the  kingdom  un- 
der Rehoboam  there  began  a  gradual 
disintegration  of  the  nation.  The 
northern  kingdom  of  Israel,  owing 
perhaps  to  a  lack  of  vitality  and  stamina,  vi^as  the 
first  to  suffer.  Its  rulers  were,  for  the  most  part, 
conscienceless,  immoral,  selfish  creatures,  overbear- 
ing, cruel,  and  rapacious,  so  far  as  their  own  sub- 
jects were  concerned,  and  fawning  and  hypocritical 
toward  the  mightier  rulers  of  the  surrounding  coun- 
tries. Jeroboam,  the  leader  of  the  secessionist  forces, 
was  the  first  king  of  Israel.  He  was  followed,  in 
turn,  by  Nadab,  Baesa,  Ela,  Simri,  and  Amri.  Un- 
der Ahab  the  country  suffered  from  a  severe  and 
prolonged  drought.  His  introduction  of  Phoenician 
worship  was  a  prime  factor  in  overthrowing  tradi- 
tion and  ancient  usages.  Even  the  schools  of  the 
prophets,  which  were  by  this  time  an  established  in- 
stitution, did  not  escape  his  tyrannical  policy,  i  Kings 
18,  22.  The  country,  torn  by  internal  dissensions, 
30 


THE  PROPHETIC  PERIOD  31 

had  no  strength  to  combat  an  aggressive  adversary. 
It  was  only  by  marshalling  all  his  forces  that  Ahab 
succeeded  in  defeating  the  Syrian  king,  Ben-Hadad. 
There  followed  several  weak  rulers,  Ahaziah  and 
Jehoram.     Jehu  had  a  long,  but  not  exceptionally 
successful  reign.     It  is  significant  that  the  final  ruin 
of  the  nation  began  at  this  time:  "In  those  days  the 
Lord  began  to  cut  Israel  short,"  2  Kings   10,  32. 
Jehoahaz  and  Jehoash  had  a  rather  colorless  reign. 
Under  Jeroboam  II  Israel  once  more,  by  a  last  ef- 
fort, regained  a  position  of  respect  and  power.     He 
extended  the  boundaries  of  his  kingdom  to  the  Eu- 
phrates in  the  East,  to  Damascus  in  the  North,  to 
the  Dead   Sea  in  the  South.     His  son,  Zachariah, 
however,  ruled  only  six  months.     His  assassin  Shal- 
lum  was  in  turn  slain  by  Menahem.     It  was  only 
by  the  payment  of  high  tribute  that  this  ruler  was 
able   to   maintain   a  semblance   of   a  kingdom   over 
against  the  Assyrians.     His  son,  Pekahiah  was  mur- 
dered after  a  short  reign  by  Pekah.    After  this  ruler 
had,  in  turn,  been  removed  by  assassination,  Hoshea, 
the  murderer,  became  guilty  of  a  last  foolish  move. 
He  refused  to  pay  tribute  to  the  Assyrian  king  Shal- 
maneser,  trying,  at  the  same  time,  to  win  So,  the 
king  of  Egypt,  with  presents.    So  the  end  came  rath- 
er abruptly.     Hoshea,  together  with  the  people  of 
Israel,  was  led  away  into  Assyrian  captivity.     And 
the  result  is  stated  thus:  "Therefore  the  Lord  re- 


32     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

moved  them  out  of  his  sight:  there  was  none  left 
but  the  tribe  of  Judah  only,"  2  Kings  17,  18. 

The  history  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah  is  not  quite 
so  dark  and  cheerless,  but  is  also  nothing  but  a  re- 
cital of  gradual  disintegration  and  final  ruin.  Even 
under  Rehoboam,  the  kingdom  became  so  weak  that, 
for  the  first  time,  an  enemy  succeeded  in  taking  the 
city  of  Jerusalem.  That  was  Shishak,  king  of  Egypt. 
He  even  dared  to  plunder  the  temple  and  the  palace 
which  Solomon  had  built.  Under  the  reign  of  Abi- 
jah  and  Asa  things  began  to  look  better.  Some  of 
the  strongest  enemies  were  conquered  or  gained  for 
Judah,  and  when  the  reformation  of  the  Church  and 
the  judiciary  was  completed  under  Jehoshaphat,  an 
era  of  renewed  prosperity  began  for  the  southern 
kingdom.  This  did  not  last  very  long,  however, 
With  Jehoram,  a  gradual  decline  set  in,  which  was 
intensified  under  the  following  rulers :  Ahaziah,  the 
queen-regent  Athaliah,  Joash,  and  Amaziah.  The 
accession  of  Uzziah  ushered  in  a  century  of  greater 
prosperity.  He  was  very  fortunate  in  war  and  took 
a  great  deal  of  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his  people. 
These  favorable  conditions  continued  under  Jotham, 
were  reversed  very  markedly  under  Ahaz,  but  were 
emphasized  under  Hezekiah,  the  last  king  of  im- 
portance. He  made  every  effort  to  restore  Judah  to 
the  glory  of  its  "golden  era."  But  it  was  the  last 
flickering  before  the  final  extinction.     The  fate  of 


THE  PROPHETIC  PERIOD  33 

the  northern  kingdom,  which  was  settled  during  his 
reign,  presaged  the  fate  of  Judah.  The  remaining 
kings  Manasseh,  Amon,  Josiah,  Jehoahaz,  Jehoiakim, 
Jehoiachin,  Zedekiah,  were,  almost  to  a  man,  either 
violently  deposed  or  assassinated.  In  the  year  605 
B.  C.  Nebuchadnezzar  took  the  first  captives  to 
Babylon,  and  twenty  years  later  the  remaining  Jews 
with  the  exception  of  a  little  band  which  fled  to 
Egypt,  taking  the  unwilling  Jeremiah  with  them, 
were  led  away  into  the  Babylonian  captivity. 

Education  during  the  Prophetic  Period 

It  is  evident  from  this  brief  historical  survey 
that  the  conditions  in  both  kingdoms  were  decidedly 
unfavorable  to  education  and  the  fostering  of  the 
arts  and  sciences  in  general.  For  under  such  condi- 
tions of  uncertainty  and  internal  strife,  of  turmoil, 
disruption,  and  disintegration,  the  highest  develop- 
ment of  a  people  in  sciences  and  arts  cannot  be 
reached,  or  if  it  has  been  attained  to  before,  it  can- 
not be  maintained,  or,  at  least,  its  existence  is  an 
extremely  precarious  one.  The  country  was  torn 
by  civil  war,  overrun  by  hostile  forces,  the  very  ex- 
istence of  the  nation  was  often  threatened,  and  its 
final  ruin  but  a  question  of  time. 

But  while  there  are  evidences  of  retrogression  in 
certain  respects,  while  there  were  times  when  syste- 


34     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

matic  education  for  the  masses  was  out  of  the  ques- 
tion, it  is  significant  that  the  educational  ideals  of 
the  people  were  not  altered.  We  have  essentially 
the  same  precepts,  the  same  means,  and  the  same 
aims  as  in  the  previous  period.  And  w^henever  there 
was  an  interval  of  peace,  the  recovery  of  lost  ground 
was  little  short  of  marvellous. 

So  far  as  the  attitude  of  parents  toward  their  chil- 
dren is  concerned,  there  is  the  same  longing  for  off- 
spring, the  same  love  of  children,  the  same  authority 
over  the  young,  as  in  the  early  days  of  Jewish  his- 
tory. The  Shunammite  at  the  time  of  Elisha  had 
one  supreme  wish,  that  of  becoming  a  mother  to  a 
son,  2  Kings  4,  16.  And  when  her  desire  had  been 
fulfilled  and  her  boy  afterward  died,  her  great  love 
for  the  child  is  shown  in  her  every  word  and  action, 
2  Kings  4,  28.  As  one  of  the  greatest  curses  of 
God  pronounced  upon  a  disobedient  people,  is  men- 
tioned "the  miscarrying  womb,  and  dry  breasts," 
Hosea  9,  14.  That  the  authority  of  parents  over 
their  children  was  in  no  wise  curtailed,  is  evident 
from  the  passage  Jer.  29,  6:  "Take  wives  for  your 
sons,  and  give  your  daughters  to  husbands."  The 
example  of  Tobith  is  sufficient  to  show  that  this 
authority  was  unquestioned.  That  there  were  times, 
however,  when  the  respect  of  the  children  toward 
their  parents  was  forgotten,  and  the  honor  due  to 
their  station  was  not  accorded  them,  appears  from 


THE  PROPHETIC  PERIOD  35 

Micah  7,  6:  "The  son  dishonoreth  the  father,  the 
daughter  riseth  up  against  her  mother,  the  daughter- 
in-law  against  her  mother-in-law."  But  of  course 
the  very  fact  that  such  a  complaint  was  voiced  is 
sufficient  evidence  for  the  assumption  that  the  posi- 
tion of  the  parents  as  the  natural  superiors  of  the 
children  was  rigidly  upheld  and  guarded. 

This  is  evident  also  from  the  methods  of  disci- 
pline which  were  employed.  The  rigor  of  the  prev- 
ious period  had  in  no  wise  been  mitigated.  Is.  45,  10: 
"Woe  unto  him  that  saith  unto  his  father,  What 
begettest  thou?  or  to  the  woman,  What  hast  thou 
brought  forth?"  This  'woe'  of  which  the  text  speaks 
is  undoubtedly  the  same  punishment  which  is  spoken 
of  in  the  Law,  and  consisted  in  either  expulsion  or 
death. 

Upon  the  parents  rested  the  responsibility  for  the 
education  of  the  children,  especially  their  moral  and 
religious  training.  As  the  Law  had  been  passed 
on  from  father  to  son  throughout  the  generations, 
and  had  been  preserved  also  through  the  agency  of 
the  prophets  and  priests  and  other  teachers,  so  the 
prophecies  should  be  preserved  by  tradition.  "Tell 
ye  your  children  of  it,  and  let  your  children  tell 
their  children,  and  their  children  another  genera- 
tion," Joel  I,  3.  The  worship  of  Jahweh  indeed 
often  gave  way  to  the  worship  of  Baal,  at  least  by  a 
part  of   the   people,   and   religious  training  in   the 


36     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

specific  Jewish  religion  was  often  virtually  aband- 
oned, as  in  the  days  of  Elijah,  but  occasional  efforts 
at  reformation,  as  those  of  Jehoshaphat,  Uzziah,  and 
Hezekiah,  served  to  keep  interest  in  the  Jewish  reli- 
gion awake.  Whenever  such  eras  were  ushered  in, 
there  was  a  revival  of  old-time  religious  instruction. 
To  this,  no  doubt,  Joel  had  reference,  when  he 
writes:  "Be  glad  then,  ye  children  of  Zion,  and  re- 
joice in  the  Lord  your  God,  who  giveth  you  teachers 
unto  righteousness,"  Joel  2,  23.  That  the  prophet 
schools  were  continued,  at  least  in  the  early  part  of 
this  period,  is  evident  from  several  passages.  "The 
sons  of  the  prophets  came  forth  to  Elisha,"  2  Kgs.  2, 
3,  5.  "Fifty  men  of  the  sons  of  the  prophets  went 
and  stood  to  view  afar  off,"  vs.  7,  15.  "And  Elisha 
came  again  to  Gilgal :  and  there  was  a  dearth  in 
the  land:  and  the  sons  of  the  prophets  were  sitting 
before  him,"  2  Kings  4,  38  ff.  There  were,  accord- 
ing to  the  text,  one  hundred  men  at  this  school. 
"And  the  sons  of  the  prophets  said  unto  Elisha,  Be- 
hold now,  the  place  where  we  dwell  with  thee  is 
too  strait  for  us.  Let  us  go,  we  pray  thee,  unto 
Jordan,  and  take  thence  every  man  a  beam,  and  let 
us  make  a  place  there,  where  we  may  dwell,"  2  Kings 
6,  I  ff.  It  appears  from  these  passages  that  the  pro- 
phet schools  at  this  time  were  boarding  schools,  the 
buildings  of  which  were  erected  by  the  pupils  them- 
selves, and  who  were  supported,  to  a  gre?t  extent, 


THE  PROPHETIC  PERIOD  37 

by  voluntary  contributions  and  loans.  "There  came  a 
man  from  Baalshalisha,  and  brought  the  man  of 
God  bread  of  the  first  fruits,  twenty  loaves  of  barley, 
and  full  ears  of  corn  in  the  husk  thereof.  And  he 
said,  Give  unto  the  people  that  they  may  eat.  And 
his  servitor  said,  What?  should  I  set  this  before  an 
hundred  men?"  2  Kings  4,  42,  43.  It  is  not  express- 
ly stated  whether  there  was  any  instruction  outside  of 
the  teaching  of  the  Law,  but  from  the  entire  history 
of  the  time  it  would  surely  not  be  too  bold  to  con- 
clude that  reading  and  writing  were  also  taught.  In 
fact,  in  carrying  out  the  commands  of  the  Torah, 
it  devolved  upon  the  leaders  of  the  prophet  schools  to 
teach  their  pupils  to  read  and  to  write. 

In  many  of  the  royal  houses  of  this  period  we 
find  private  tutors,  to  whom  the  education  of  the 
children  was  entrusted.  In  the  case  of  Ahab's  chil- 
dren these  men  are  called  'bringers-up  of  the  chil- 
dren,' 2  Kings  10,  I,  5.  Jehoiada,  the  priest,  was 
tutor  and  guardian  of  king  Joash,  2  Chron.  24.  Uz- 
ziah  had  Zechariah  for  a  teacher  at  his  court,  2 
Chron.  26,  5,  It  is  very  probable  that  the  training 
which  the  royal  children  of  the  Jewish  nation  re- 
ceived was  quite  as  far  advanced  as  that  of  the 
princes  in  the  surrounding  countries. 

However,  there  was  also  instruction  for  the  people 
in  general,  with  specially  trained  teachers.  Jehos- 
haphat  "in  the  third  year  of  his  reign  sent  to  his 


38     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

princess  ...  to  teach  in  the  cities  of  Judah. 
and  with  them  he  sent  Levites  .  .  .  and 
priests.  And  they  taught  in  Judah,  and  had 
the  book  of  the  law  of  the  Lord  with  them, 
and  went  about  throughout  all  the  cities  of  Judah, 
and  taught  the  people,"  2  Chron.  17,  7-9.  The 
scribe  (sofer),  the  learned  man,  seems  to  have  been 
the  professional  teacher  from  this  time  on.  "Where 
is  the  scribe?"  Is.  33,  18.  "Thy  teachers  (inter- 
preters) have  transgressed  against  me,"  Is.  43,  27. 
"The  Lord  God  hath  given  me  the  tongue  of  the 
learned"  (professional  teacher),  Is.  50,  4.  "The 
priests  said  not.  Where  is  the  Lord  and  they  that 
handle  the  law  knew  me  not :  the  pastors  also  trans- 
gressed against  me,  and  the  prophets  prophecied  by 
Baal,"  Jer.  2,  8.  Although  the  argument  of  varia- 
tion might  be  advanced  here,  the  fact  that  the  words 
were  in  use  seems  to  point  to  the  existence  of  sepa- 
rate offices.  "From  the  prophet  even  unto  the  priest 
every  one  dealeth  falsely,"  Jer.  6,  13.  "The  law 
shall  perish  from  the  priest,  and  counsel  from  the 
ancients,"  Hesek.  7,  26.  This  is  commonly  regarded 
to  mean  that  there  were  teachers  outside  of  the 
priests,  who  were  interpreters  of  the  Law,  expound- 
ing it  in  the  schools  and  applying  it  to  every  circum- 
stance and  condition  of  everyday  life. 

Whether   there  were   specially   equipped   general 
schools  with  buildings  or  rooms  set  apart  for  that  pur- 


THE  PROPHETIC  PERIOD  39 

pose  at  this  time,  cannot  be  determined  from  the  ma- 
terial available.  But  that  reading  and  writing  were 
general,  common  accomplishments,  is  evident  from 
several  passages.  That  Shaphan  the  scribe  was  also 
the  reader  in  public  cannot  be  advanced  as  a  valid 
counter-argument,  2  Kings  22,  8  ff.  2  Kings  23,  2.  2, 
Chron.  34,  18.  The  writing  of  letters  by  Jehu  and 
the  reading  of  them  by  the  elders  of  Jezreel  is  not 
recorded  as  anything  extraordinary,  2  Kings  10,  i. 
"Read  this  (book)  I  pray  thee:  and  he  saith,  I  can- 
not for  it  is  sealed:  And  the  book  is  delivered  to 
him  that  is  not  learned,  saying.  Read  this,  I  pray 
thee:  and  he  saith,  I  am  not  learned,"  Is.  29,  11, 
12.  This  same  example  could  be  used  in  our  days 
without  reproach.  It  argues  for  a  general  knowl- 
edge of  reading,  not  against  it.  "Write  the  vision 
and  make  it  plain  upon  tables,  that  he  may  run  that 
readeth  it,"  Hab.  2,  2.  "Take  thee  a  roll  and  write 
therein,"  Baruch  wrote.  Jer.  36,  2.  Upon  the  occa- 
sion of  a  transfer  of  property,  Jeremiah  subscribed 
the  evidence,  but  the  witnesses  also  subscribed  the 
book  of  the  purchase,  Jer.  32,  10,  12.  Both  forms 
of  writing  were  apparently  in  use,  according  to  these 
passages:  the  writing  on  (clay)  tablets  and  also  in 
rolls. 

From  all  the  available  material  we  may  conclude 
that  the  teaching  of  the  Law,  including  the  prophe- 
cies (Torah,  Nebiim,  Ketubim)  was  general  during 


40    EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

the  period,  that  reading  and  writing  was  a  common 
accomplishment,  and  that  a  great  majority  of  the 
people,  who  enjoyed  the  services  of  interpreters, 
scribes,  or  teachers,  also  had  some  knowledge  of 
arithmetic,  geography,  music,  astronomy,  arts  and 
crafts.     Is.  44,  12,  13.     Is.  46,  6. 

Before  continuing  in  the  discussion  of  the  next 
period  of  Jewish  history,  it  must  be  noted  that  with 
the  leading  away  of  the  Jews  into  exile,  there  begins 
that  period  of  their  history  which  produced  the 
Talmud  (in  the  general,  more  comprehensive  mean- 
ing). As  soon  as  Nebuchadnezzer  had  taken  down 
large  numbers  of  the  population  of  Judea  into  Baby- 
lonia, so  tradition  has  it,  king  Jehoiachin  founded 
an  academy  of  Jewish  learning  at  Nehardea,  erec- 
ting a  special  building  for  that  purpose.  This  school 
apparently  existed  for  several  centuries.  The  acad- 
emy of  Ezra  was  near  Huzal.  While  the  Great 
Synagogue  cannot  be  established  as  historical,  yet 
there  are  sufficient  evidences  of  oral  tradition  lead- 
ing back  to  some  such  body,  and  making  the  be- 
ginnings of  Talmudic  interpretation  very  probable 
for  the  period  of  the  exile.  It  is  quite  true  that 
there  are  no  authentic  written  documents,  and  yet 
the  tradition  cannot  be  ignored. 

In  order  to  avoid  confusion  and  to  retain  the  di- 
vision of  historical  periods  in  our  discussion,  we 
shall  continue  to  give  a  short  historical  survey  of  the 


THE  PROPHETIC  PERIOD  41 

remaining  periods  of  the  Jewish  history:  the  Exilic, 
the  Persian,  the  Hellenic,  the  Maccabean,  and  the 
Roman  periods,  together  with  a  brief  presentation 
of  the  status  of  education  from  Biblical  and  Apocry- 
phal sources,  and  then  finally  embrace  the  time  from 
the  beginning  of  the  exile  to  the  decline  of  the  acad- 
emies in  Palestine  and  Babylonia,  and  discuss  the 
education  of  this  entire  period  as  shown  in  passages 
of  the  Talmud. 


Ill 

THE  EXILIC  PERIOD,  586-536  B.  C. 

From  the  Taking  of  the  Last  Band  of  Jews 

INTO  Babylonia  to  the  Return  of  the 

First  Exiles 

Historical  Survey 

JERUSALEM  and  the  temple  had  been  de- 
stroyed by  the  Bablyonian  invaders.  This  fact 
also  had  a  very  definite  influence  on  the  hopes 
>f  the  Jews  as  to  their  speedy  return.  Most 
of  them  followed  the  advice  of  Jeremiah  (29,  5-7) 
and  Ezechiel  (39)  and  prepared  for  a  stay  of  sev- 
eral generations.  They  built  themselves  houses  and 
dwelt  in  them,  they  planted  gardens  and  ate  of  their 
fruit.  They  were  in  general,  several  disagreeable  in- 
cidents excepted,  permitted  the  free  exercise  of  their - 
religion.  They  gave  up  none  of  their  established 
customs.  And  since  they  looked  upon  the  exile  as  a 
punishment  of  God  for  their  laxity  and  denial,  they 
were  more  than  ever  anxious  to  return  to  the  wor- 
ship of  the  true  God  and  the  keeping  of  all  the  com- 
mandments and  statutes  delivered  to  Moses.  Every- 
thing was  auspicious,  not  only  for  a  revival  of  the 
42 


THE  EXILIC  PERIOD  43 

revealed  religion,  but  also  for  quiet  internal  growth 
and  an  almost  imperceptible  process  of  assimilation 
of  secular  knowledge  and  learning.  From  fifty  to 
seventy  years  they  had  been  in  exile,  when  the  prom- 
ised deliverance  came.  It  was  in  the  year  538  B.  C. 
that  Cyrus  vanquished  the  Babylonian  army.  He 
made  Kyaxares,  called  by  Daniel  Darius  of  Medea, 
nominal  ruler  of  the  empire.  But  when  Darius  had 
died,  in  536,  Cyrus  himself  took  up  the  reign.  One 
of  his  first  official  acts  was  a  proclamation  permit- 
ting the  exiled  Jews  to  return  to  their  country,  not, 
indeed,  as  a  politically  independent  people,  but  with 
the  assurance  of  full  religious  liberty.  It  must  be 
noted,  however,  that  not  all  the  Jews  returned  to  Je- 
rusalem at  this  time,  but  only  a  small  part.  The 
younger  generation  apparently  looked  upon  Baby- 
lonia as  their  home  country.  But  the  academies 
fostered  the  feeling  of  nationalism  and  nourished  the 
hope  of  the  return  of  the  ancient  glory. 

Education    during   the   Exilic   Period 

The  passages  of  the  Bible  concerning  the  status  of 
education  during  this  period  are  few  in  number  and 
very  meagre  as  to  contents.  But  from  the  material 
at  hand  and  from  the  spirit  of  the  writings  trans- 
mitted to  us  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  same 
principles  as  to  the  bringing  up  and  the  education  of 


44     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

children  prevailed  at  this  time  as  in  the  previous 
periods.  Children  were  esteemed  very  highly  as 
special  blessings  of  God.  One  of  the  most  terrible 
curses  pronounced  upon  the  idolatrous  Jews  was: 
"Famine  and  evil  beasts  shall  bereave  thee,"  Ezek, 
5,  17.  According  to  this  passage,  the  relation  be- 
tween parents  and  children  was  that  of  kindness  and 
tender  solicitude,  and  to  be  deprived  of  children  was 
considered  a  most  terrible  visitation  of  God.  The 
power  of  parents  over  their  children  was  practically 
unlimited,  with  the  object,  however,  of  serving  their 
interests,  Jer.  29,  6.  On  the  other  hand,  a  "criminal 
son  shall  surely  die,  his  blood  shall  be  upon  him," 
Ezek.  18,  13. 

That  systematic  instruction  was  given,  at  least  in 
certain  circles,  seems  to  be  evident  from  the  story  of 
Daniel  and  his  friends.  Ashpenaz  was  told  to  se- 
lect from  among  the  captive  young  men  "children  in 
whom  was  no  blemish,  but  well  favored,  and  skillful 
in  all  wisdom,  and  cunning  in  knowledge,  and  un- 
derstanding science,  and  such  as  had  ability  in  them 
to  stand  in  the  king's  palace,  and  whom  they  might 
teach  the  learning  ...  of  the  Chaldeans," 
Dan.  1,  4,  17.  Now  although  these  four  were  "of 
the  king's  seed,  and  of  the  princes,"  yet  the  text 
does  not  in  any  way  limit  the  accomplishments  men- 
tioned to  these  young  men.  It  seems  more  in  con- 
formity with  the  words  to  believe  that  a  fair  degree 


THE  EXILIC  PERIOD  45 

of  knowledge  was  general  among  the  Jewish  young 
men,  and  that  these  four,  in  a  competitive  examina- 
tion, ranked  highest.  So  far  as  Daniel  is  concerned, 
Josephus  even  states  that  he  was  "already  sufficiently 
skilled  in  wisdom"  to  meet  all  the  requirements  of 
the  king.  Outside  of  this  one  passage,  special  sub- 
jects of  instruction  or  study  are  not  mentioned  in  the 
books  pertaining  to  this  period.  We  have  no  reason  ^^ 
to  assume,  however,  that  the  ability  to  read  and  write 
was  not  a  fairly  general  accomplishment,  as  well  as 
the  other  branches  necessary  for  commercial  pur- 
suits and  professional  life.  Even  the  art  of  map 
drawing  with  the  incidental  knowledge  of  geography 
and  arithmetic,  is  introduced  in  a  rather  casual 
manner,  Ezek.  4,  i. 

There  were  specially  appointed  teachers  during 
this  period,  not  primarily,  indeed,  for  secular,  but 
for  religious  instruction.  Since,  however,  the  inter- 
pretative method  of  teaching  made  necessary  at 
least  an  elementary  knowledge  of  the  common  school 
branches,  we  may  well  speak  of  regular  and  general 
instruction  and  training,  not  very  elaborate  under 
the  circumstances,  to  be  sure,  but  still  of  consid- 
erable importance.  "They  that  understand  among 
the  people  shall  instruct  many,"  Dan.  11,  33.  "And 
they  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the 
firmament ;  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteous- 
ness as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever,"   Dan.    12,  3. 


46     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

These  passages  refer  to  teachers,  to  them  that  in- 
struct, to  the  wise  men,  and  that  there  were  quite  a 
number  of  them,  even  during  the  exile,  appears  from 
this  very  general  remark. 


IV 

THE  PERSIAN  PERIOD,  538-332  B.  C. 
Brief   Historical   Survey 

WITH  the  overthrow  of  the  Babylon- 
ian empire,  the  Jews  did  not,  indeed, 
regain  their  liberty,  neither  in  a  po- 
litical nor  a  commercial  respect,  but 
their  condition  was,  nevertheless,  ameliorated  to  a 
great  extent.  Cyrus  proved  rather  friendly  to  them, 
especially  so  far  as  their  religion  was  concerned. 
Immediately  upon  his  accession  to  the  throne,  he 
issued  the  proclamation  permitting  the  Jews  to  re- 
turn to  their  country.  At  the  same  time,  he  brought 
forth  the  vessels  of  the  house  of  the  Lord,  which 
Nebuchadnezzar  had  taken  as  trophies  of  war  from 
Jerusalem.  Under  the  leadership  of  prince  Zer- 
ubbabel  and  the  high  priest  Jeshua  some  60,000  peo- 
ple made  the  journey  back  to  the  desolate  city  Jeru- 
salem. The  first  attempts  at  restoration,  especially 
the  rebuilding  of  the  temple,  were  such  pitiful  ef- 
forts in  comparison  with  the  former  glory  that  the 
older  members  of  the  people  that  had  seen  Solomon's 
temple,  burst  into  tears.  In  addition  to  that,  the 
Samaritans  did  everything  in  their  power  to  hinder 
47 


48     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

the  progress  of  the  work.  It  was  not  until  516  B.  C. 
that  the  Jews  were  able  to  dedicate  their  new  tem- 
ple. This  was  during  the  reign  of  Darius  Hystaspis. 
During  the  next  sixty  years,  the  Jews  that  re- 
mained in  Babylonia  suffered  somewhat  from  op- 
pression, but  were  finally  liberated  in  a  most  glorious 
manner.  Xerxes  is  very  probably  the  king  of  whom 
the  Book  of  Esther  speaks.  In  458  B.  C.  the  priest 
and  scribe  Ezra,  who  seems  to  have  had  some  influ- 
ence at  the  Persian  court,  went  back  to  his  native 
country.  He  had  been  in  charge  of  an  academy  in 
Babylonia  and  his  purpose  was  to  effect  a  thorough- 
going reform  of  religion  in  Judea.  A  great  number 
of  exiles  accompanied  him  and  aided  very  greatly  in 
the  work  that  he  had  set  himself  to  do.  While  he 
had  some  success,  the  material  prosperity  of  the  Jews 
at  Jerusalem  was  not  enhanced.  When  Nehemiah, 
the  cupbearer  of  the  Persian  king  Artaxerxes  (Long- 
imanus),  heard  of  this,  he  was  moved  to  give  up  his 
important  position  and  hasten  to  the  aid  of  his 
brethren.  It  was  fortunate  that  the  king  gave  him 
full  commission  and  power  to  act,  because  the  state 
of  things  at  Jerusalem  was  approaching  chaos  when 
Nehemiah  appeared.  He  had  the  walls  repaired 
and  the  gates  restored.  He  also,  together  with  Ezra, 
again  established  religious  services  and  brought  or- 
der into  the  civic  body.  And  when,  after  his  return 
to  his  position  in  the  East,  the  succeeding  governors 


THE  PERSIAN  PERIOD  49 

were  not  equal  to  the  situation,  he  returned  to  the 
city,  and  eventually  drove  the  Moabite  Saneballat, 
the  chief  mischief-maker^  into  Samaria.  The  next 
century  under  Persian  sovereignty  was  comparative- 
ly uneventful.  During  this  time  of  peace,  however, 
the  Jews  had  the  best  opportunity  for  readjustment 
and  thorough  organization  of  their  educational  meth- 
ods. The  influence  of  the  Babylonian  academies  and 
the  Great  Synagogue  was  being  felt  with  increasing 
strength.  While  the  extent  of  this  influence  can- 
not be  measured  exactly,  in  the  absence  of  authentic 
information,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  was  very 
great  and  lasting. 

Education  during  the  Persian  Period 

All  the  factors  enumerated  above:  the  influence 
of  a  strong,  but  wise  government,  the  reformation  of 
the  church  and  the  restoration  of  the  religion  of 
Moses,  the  contact  with  people  of  great  enlighten- 
ment,— they  all  had  a  very  definite  influence  on  the 
Jewish  people,  especially  in  education.  While  sec- 
ular subjects  had  never  been  entirely  neglected 
among  them,  a  new  impetus  was  now  given  to  their 
study,  and  the  imperative  need  of  a  thorough  and 
comprehensive  system  in  education  and  of  a  proper 
equipment  for  such  a  system  was  coming  to  be  felt 
more  and  more. 


50     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

The  order  regarding  the  relation  between  parents 
and  children  was  obviously  insisted  upon  with  great- 
er vigor.  The  poiuer  of  parents  over  their  chil- 
dren was  practically  unlimited.  The  giving  and 
taking  in  marriage  was  a  right  which  the  parents 
dared  not  to  abrogate.  "Give  not  your  daughters 
unto  their  sons,  neither  take  their  daughters  unto 
your  sons :  that  ye  may  be  strong  and  eat  the  good  of 
the  land,  and  leave  it  for  an  inheritance  to  your  chil- 
dren forever,"  Ezra  9,  12.  "Ye  shall  not  give  your 
daughters  unto  their  sons,  nor  take  their  daughters 
unto  your  sons,  nor  for  yourselves,"  Nehem.  13,  25. 
In  accordance  with  this  provision  of  the  law,  the  obe- 
dience of  children  and  of  those  under  authority  was 
almost  absolute.  "Esther  (as  queen)  did  the  com- 
mandment of  Mordecai,  like  as  when  she  was 
brought  up  with  him,"  Esther  2,  20.  Esther  had 
been  Mordecai's  ward  and  he  had,  according  to  Jew- 
ish law,  been  completely  'in  loco  parentis'  toward  her, 
and  she  obeyed  him  as  a  matter  of  course.  "A  son 
honoreth  his  father,"  Mai.  i,  6.  That  was  the  self- 
evident  status,  the  father  occupying,  by  virtue  of  his 
parenthood,  a  position  of  honor,  and  the  son,  by  vir- 
tue of  his  sonship,  giving  his  father  the  respect  and 
obedience  due  his  position. 

That  schools  were  established  in  Palestine,  at  least 
during  the  early  part  of  this  period,  seems  very  im- 
probable from  the  material  at  hand.     Writing  was 


THE  PERSIAN  PERIOD  51 

generally  known,  and  therefore  reading  also,  to  the 
Jews  in  the  exile  at  the  time  of  Xerxes,  for  the 
proclamation  for  the  Jews  was  written  in  their  writ- 
ing and  their  language  and  was  therefore  evidently 
read  by  them  also,  Esther  8,  9,  Whether  the  bilin- 
gual question,  with  which  Nehemiah  was  obliged  to 
contend  at  his  time,  ever  reached  the  schools,  is  not 
evident  from  the  passage,  Nehem.  13,  24. 

Certain  it  is  that  regular  teaching  was  carried  on 
in  the  time  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  but  whether  this 
included  religious  instruction  only,  or  was  extended 
to  embrace  secular  subjects  also,  does  not  appear 
from  Biblical  sources.  The  Levites  were  the  regu- 
lar teachers  of  the  peoples,  Nehem.  8,  7,  g.  "Ezra 
had  prepared  his  heart  to  teach  in  Israel  statutes  and 
judgments,"  Ezra  7,  10.  The  "men  of  understand- 
ing" mentioned  by  Ezra  were  the  teachers  of  the  peo- 
ple, who  gave  them  understanding  of  the  law,  Ezra 
8,  16,  18.  "The  priest's  lips  should  keep  knowl- 
edge," Mai.  2,  7. 

The  passages  adduced  here  have  reference  exclu- 
sively to  religious  teaching,  or  the  reading  and  teach- 
ing of  the  Law.  But,  aside  from  evidence  which 
will  be  introduced  later,  it  would  be  a  mistake  to 
argue  'e  silentio'  that  instruction  in  secular  branches 
was  unknown  during  this  period.  It  is  expressly 
stated  that  the  teachers  not  only  read  the  law 
(taught  by  rote),  but  they  also  "gave  the  sense  and 


52     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

caused  the  people  to  understand  the  reading," 
Nehem.  8,  8.  According  to  Jewish  custom,  that  can 
mean  but  one  thing,  that  they  took  up  all  the  ques- 
tions touched  upon  in  the  holy  books,  and  heard  dis- 
cussions of  the  elements  of  all  branches  of  knowledge. 


THE  HELLENIC  PERIOD,  332-165  B.  C. 

From  the  Conquest  of  Judea  by  Alexander 

THE  Great  to  the  Defeat  of  the  Syrians 

BY  Judas  Maccabeus 

Historical  Survey 

THE  transition  from  Persian  to  Hellenic 
sovereignty  in  Judea  was  attended  with 
but  little  disturbance,  as  Josephus  relates 
the  story.  After  the  Samaritan  leader 
had  renounced  allegiance  to  Darius,  and  Alexander, 
after  taking  the  city  of  Tyre,  was  marching  down 
through  Judea  on  his  way  to  Egypt,  the  high-priest 
Jaddua  conceived  of  a  daring  plan  to  gain  the  good- 
will of  the  conqueror.  Clad  in  all  his  robes  of  office, 
attended  by  the  priests,  and  followed  by  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Jerusalem,  he  went  out  to  meet  Alexander. 
His  plan  succeeded  splendidly.  Alexander  bowed 
down  before  Jaddua  and  explained  to  his  officers  that 
he  had  once  in  a  dream  seen  a  man  in  such  vestments, 
who  had  promised  him  the  conquest  of  Asia.  He 
then  inspected  the  city  and  the  temple,  made  a  sac- 
rifice on  the  main  altar,  excused  the  Jews  from  the 
53 


54     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

payment  of  taxes  for  one  year,  and  granted  them 
free  exercise  of  their  religion.  With  the  death  of 
Alexander,  however,  only  ten  years  later,  the  Jew- 
ish hopes  received  a  temporary  setback.  Ptolemaeus 
Lagus,  after  a  long  struggle,  gained  the  mastery 
over  Egypt  and  Judea.  He,  as  well  as  his  successor, 
Ptolemaeus  Philadelphus,  took  an  active  interest  in 
the  arts  and  sciences,  and  many  Jews  were  induced 
to  move  to  Egypt  with  the  prospect  of  great  mater- 
ial advantages.  Most  of  these  settled  at  Alexan- 
dria, where  they  became  acquainted  with  Greek 
learning.  The  immense  library  of  Alexandria  was 
begun  by  Ptolemaeus  Philadelphus  and  the  transla- 
tion of  the  Old  Testament  into  Greek,  the  so-called 
Septuagint,  was  probably  made  at  his  instigation. 

About  the  year  247  B.  C,  the  old  struggle  be- 
tween the  Ptolemies  of  Egypt  and  the  Seleucidae  of 
Syria  was  renewed  and  continued  for  almost  fifty 
years.  Judea  was  often  the  battle-ground,  and  Jeru- 
salem very  often  had  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  con- 
flict. Antiochus  HI  finally  vanquished  the  Ptolemies 
and  Judea  apparently  was  to  have  an  era  of  peace 
and  prosperity.  Antiochus  proved  a  friend  of  the 
Jews,  he  permitted  them  to  repair  the  temple, 
granted  full  religious  liberty,  and  persuaded  many 
of  the  Jews  to  form  colonies  in  various  parts  of 
Asia  Minor,  as  well  as  in  Mesopotamia.  This  happy 
condition   was   radically   changed   under  Antiochus 


THE  HELLENIC  PERIOD  55 

the  Noble.  When  one  of  his  favorites,  Jason,  who 
had  usurped  the  position  of  high  priest  in  Jerusalem, 
and  introduced  pagan  ceremonies,  was  driven  from 
the  city,  he  began  a  series  of  atrocious  assaults.  Jeru- 
salem was  taken,  thousands  were  killed,  other  thou- 
sands sold  as  slaves,  the  walls  of  the  city  were  razed 
and  the  Jewish  religion  was  declared  obsolete.  The 
final  result  was  that  a  staunch  Jewish  patriarch, 
Mathathias,  gathered  the  faithful  about  him,  en- 
trenched himself  in  the  mountains,  made  sudden 
attacks  upon  the  enemy,  and  gradually  recovered  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  country.  And  his  son,  Ju- 
das Maccabeus,  took  up  the  work  where  he  had  re- 
linquished it.  He  routed  the  Syrians  in  several 
great  battles,  took  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  and  re- 
stored the  Jewish  religion. 

Education   during  the  Hellenic  Period 

It  appears  from  the  history  of  this  period  that 
there  were  two  eras  of  quiet,  one  of  rather  short 
duration,  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  century  B.  C,  and 
the  other  during  the  time  of  the  first  Ptolemies. 
These  periods,  especially  the  latter,  were  very  favor- 
able to  the  development  of  the  arts  and  sciences. 
With  Greek  learning,  especially  to  the  extent  in 
which  it  was  introduced,  came,  in  some  measure  at 
least,  the  Greek  system  of  education.     If  there  was 


56     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

no  definite  educational  or  school  system  established, 
by  which  the  results  of  Greek  learning  were  com- 
municated to  the  young,  there  must,  at  least,  have 
been  sufficient  intercourse  to  permit  of  an  absorption 
of  Greek  learning  by  the  leaders  of  the  Jewish  peo- 
ple. More  definite  conclusions  can  be  drawn  only 
for  the  succeeding  historical  periods,  and  in  the  final 
summary  of  the  entire  Talmudic  period  the  addi- 
tional information  will  enable  us  to  reach  more  defi- 
nite conclusions. 

The  only  book  from  which  we  may  obtain  relia- 
ble information,  though  rather  meagre,  as  to  the 
status  of  education  during  this  period,  is  the  Book 
Ecclesiasticus,  commonly  known  as  the  "Wisdom  of 
Jesus,  the  Son  of  Sirach."  The  date  of  this  book  is 
given  as  pertaining  to  the  next  period,  but  its  con- 
tents belong  to  this  period,  since  the  proverbs  were 
gathered  by  the  men  of  one  family  during  the  course 
of  three  generations.  We  have,  therefore,  a  fair 
picture  of  the  conditions  and  of  the  ideals  of  the 
time,  about  the  end  of  the  third  and  the  beginning 
of  the  second  century  before  Christ. 

It  appears  from  this  book  that  the  educational 
ideals  of  earlier  times  were  insisted  upon  with  even 
greater  emphasis  at  this  time.  The  new  feeling  of 
nationalism  and  the  thorough  reformation  of  the 
church  insisted  upon  a  slavish  return  to  ancient  laws 
and  customs,  and  the  movement  was  aided  by  the 


THE  HELLENIC  PERIOD  57 

academies  and  synagogues  in  the  various  larger  cit- 
ies and  influential  centres  to  such  a  degree,  that  lit- 
eral interpretations  of  the  law  and  slavish  adherence 
to  its  very  letter  was  practiced  among  the  conserva- 
tive Jews,  who  were  the  leaders  of  the  people.  The 
position  of  the  parents  is  defined  with  unequivocal 
definiteness.  "If  thou  hast  children,  bring  them  up 
well,  and  bend  their  neck  from  their  youth  up.  If 
thou  have  daughters,  preserve  their  body  and  do  not 
pamper  them.  Counsel  thy  daughter,  then  hast  thou 
done  a  great  deed,  and  give  her  to  a  sensible  man," 
Sir.  7,  25-27.  "Rejoice  not,  because  thou  hast  many 
evil  children,  neither  boast,  because  thou  hast  many 
children,  if  they  fear  not  God.  It  is  better  to  have 
one  pious  child  than  a  thousand  impious.  And  it  is 
better  to  die  without  children  than  to  have  godless 
ones,"  Sir.  6,  1.3.4,  Children  were  most  desirable 
treasures  then,  and  considered  great  gifts  of  God, 
and  their  bringing  up,  their  moral  training  was  en- 
trusted to  the  parents,  upon  whom  the  full  responsi- 
bility rested.  The  power  of  the  parents  was  just  as 
unlimited  as  in  any  of  the  previous  periods. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  relation  of  children  to  par- 
ents was  defined  just  as  exactly.  "The  Lord  will 
have  the  father  honored  of  the  children,  and  what- 
soever a  mother  commands  the  children.  He  wants 
the  same  kept,"  Sir.  3,  3,  7,  ff.  "Whosoever  hon- 
ors his  father,  will  live  all  the  longer,  and  whosoever 


58     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

is  obedient  for  the  Lord's  sake,  is  a  consolation  to 
his  mother";  vs.  9:  "Honor  thy  father  and  thy  moth- 
er with  deeds,  words,  and  patience,  that  their  bless- 
ings may  come  upon  thee.  For  the  blessing  of  the 
father  builds  houses  for  children,  but  the  curse  of 
the  mother  destroys  them."  "Honor  thy  father  with 
all  thy  heart,  and  forget  not  what  a  care  thou  hast 
been  to  thy  mother,"  Sir.  7,  29.  "An  impertinent 
son  is  a  dishonor  to  his  father.  A  sensible  daugh- 
ter will  very  likely  get  a  husband,  but  a  spoiled 
daughter  is  unsought  and  brings  care  to  her  father," 
Sir.  22,  3,  4.  "Forget  not  the  teaching  of  thy 
father  and  thy  mother,  so  shalt  thou  sit  among  the 
lords,"  Sir.  23,  18.  Respect,  honor,  obedience,  a 
careful  regard  for  the  teaching  of  the  parents  were 
required  absolutely  of  children,  while  impertinence, 
lack  of  respect,  want  of  shame,  and  vileness  were 
condemned. 

These  demands,  moreover,  were  required  to  be  en- 
forced with  the  utmost  strictness.  As  the  home  was 
considered  the  foundation  of  the  nation  and  the  chil- 
dren the  future  representatives  of  God's  chosen  peo- 
ple before  the  world,  laxity  in  discipline  was  con- 
sidered not  merely  foolish,  but  almost  criminal.  Sev- 
eral chapters  are  devoted  almost  exclusively  to  this 
topic,  notably  chapters  26  and  30.  Some  of  the  sig- 
nificant verses  are  the  following.  "If  thy  daughter 
be  not  chaste,  keep  her  very  strictly,  lest  she  perform 


THE  HELLENIC  PERIOD  59 

her  wantonness,  if  she  have  too  much  liberty,"  Sir. 
26,  13.  "He  that  loves  his  child,  holds  it  under  the 
rod,  in  order  that  he  may  afterward  experience  joy 
from  the  same.  ...  A  spoiled  child  becomes 
wanton,  like  a  wild  horse.  .  .  .  Do  not  give 
him  license  in  his  youth,  and  excuse  not  his  foolish- 
ness," Sir.  30,  I  ff.  It  may  be  worthy  of  note  here 
that  the  death  penalty  for  an  unruly  child  is  not 
mentioned,  but  that  in  general  the  severity  of  deal- 
ing with  a  disobedient  son  is  emphasized  even  more 
than  in  previous  periods. 

So  far  as  systematic  instruction  is  concerned,  there 
is  no  evidence  of  a  general  school  system  at  this 
time,  with  the  exception  of  religious  schools,  Sirach 
38,  25.  39,  1-15,  which  were  probably  conducted, 
especially  in  the  Diaspora,  in  connection  with  the 
synagogues.  But  we  may  infer  that  the  influence  of 
the  great  academies  was  far-reaching  even  at  this 
time  and  that  Greek  learning  and  education  was 
also  a  factor  in  determining  thought  and  trend 
among  the  leaders  of  the  Jews.  Men  like  Jesus 
Sirach,  for  instance,  undoubtedly  were  educated 
fully  up  to  the  demand  of  the  times.  It  might  be 
argued  from  Sir.  38,  38,  39,  that  even  such  simple 
accomplishments  as  reading  and  writing  were  unusual 
at  that  time.  But  from  that  passage  as  well  as  from 
vs.  38  ff.  in  the  next  chapter  one  may  argue  with 
equal  plausibility  that  the  Book  of  Ecclesiasticus  was 


6o    EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

written  for  the  use  of  the  general  public  and  that 
everybody  was  expected  to  be  able  to  read  its  precepts 
readily.  If  there  is  at  all  such  a  thing  as  advance- 
ment and  building  up  on  an  excellent  foundation,  it 
would  be  far  more  in  keeping  with  the  circumstances 
to  infer  the  existence  of  religious  schools,  where  ele- 
mentary training  was  given,  at  least  in  the  principal 
cities.  For  that  these  schools  did  not  confine  them- 
selves to  the  teaching  of  religious  and  moral  pre- 
cepts, has  been  emphasized  above,  and  shall  be  dis- 
cussed in  a  more  extended  manner  from  the  Tal- 
mud. 


VI 

THE  MACCABEAN  PERIOD,  165-63  B.  C 

From  the  Defeat  of  the   Syrians  by  Judas 
Maccabeus  to  the  Conquest  of  Jerusa- 
lem BY  POMPEY 

Historical  Summary 

AFTER  the  defeat  of  the  Syrians  and  the 
conquest  of  Jerusalem  by  Judas  Macca- 
beus, the  power  of  the  Syrians  was  al- 
most broken.  The  first  concession  the 
victorious  Jews  insisted  upon  was  full  religious  lib- 
erty with  all  attendant  privileges.  Jonathan  Mac- 
cabeus, by  a  fine  stroke  of  diplomacy,  succeeded  in 
obtaining  the  office  of  high  priest  for  himself.  The 
third  brother,  Simon  Maccabeus,  went  a  step  far- 
ther and  gained  for  his  family  the  hereditary  eth- 
narchy.  His  grandson,  Aristobulus,  the  son  of  Hyr- 
canus,  changed  the  government  to  a  kingdom,  as- 
suming the  title  of  king  for  himself.  And  his 
brother,  Alexander  Janneus  practically  restored  the 
independence  of  the  kingdom,  regaining  for  it  also 
the  extent  and  virtually  the  power  of  the  time  of 
David.  Owing  to  the  fact,  however,  that  the  office 
61 


62     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

of  king  and  that  of  high  priest  were  vested  in  one 
person,  the  more  zealous  among  the  Jews  incited  the 
people  and  precipitated  a  civil  war  which,  a  few 
years  later,  gave  the  Roman  general  Pompey  a  wel- 
come excuse  for  intervention.  The  inevitable  result 
was  the  conquest  of  Judea  and  the  seizure  of  Jeru- 
salem by  the  Romans,  63  B.  C.  Aristobulus  the  king 
and  his  children  were  taken  to  Rome  to  be  exhibited 
in  the  triumphal  pageant,  and  the  independence  of 
Judea  was  a  thing  of  the  past. 

Education  during  the  Maccabean  Period 

"At  this  time  there  were  three  sects  among  the 
Jews,"  relates  Josephus,  "the  Pharisees,  the  Sad- 
ducees,  and  the  Essenes,"  Antiq.,  Book  XIII,  Ch. 
V.  This  remark  is  significant,  because  it  shows  a 
high  development  of  learning  among  the  Jews  at 
that  time.  The  era  was  certainly  an  auspicious  one 
for  advance  along  all  lines,  including  educational 
matters.  There  was,  especially  at  the  time  of  the 
great  festivals,  intercourse  with  the  Jews  who  had 
founded  colonies  in  Babylonia,  in  Egypt,  through- 
out Asia  Minor,  and  elsewhere,  but  retained  the  re- 
ligion and  all  their  customs.  Ever  ready  to  accom- 
modate themselves  to  their  own  advantage,  the  Jews 
absorbed  the  learning  of  the  most  civilized  nations 
of  the  time  by  contact,  if  not  by  actual  study  in  the 


THE  MACCABEAN  PERIOD  63 

foremost  schools  and  universities  of  the  world.  In 
one  respect  alone  they  remained  perfectly  isolated, 
in  their  religion  and,  to  some  extent,  in  their  lan- 
guage, the  Hebrew-Aramaic,  which  was  their  home 
tongue.  Just  how  much  the  Jews  advanced  along 
all  lines  at  this  time,  will  be  shown  in  the  discussion 
of  the  Talmudic  period.  In  the  apocryphal  books, 
we  have,  for  this  period,  the  account  of  the  Mac- 
cabees, their  wars  and  the  political  activity,  with  no 
special  reference  to  educational  matters.  There  can 
be  no  doubt,  however,  from  passages  like  2  Mace. 
7,  28,  that  the  love  of  parents  toward  their  chil- 
dren and  their  authority  was  just  as  great  as  in  form- 
er periods.  Incidentally,  it  is  told  that  the  Hebrew 
mother  nursed  her  child  about  three  years,  this,  then, 
being  considered  the  time  of  infancy. 


VII 
THE  ROMAN  PERIOD,  63  B.  C— 70  A.  D. 

Historical  Summary 

WHEN  the  Romans,  as  Josephus  re- 
lates, had  made  Jerusalem  tributary  to 
their  empire,  Hyrcanus  II  remained 
at  first  both  high  priest  and  ethnarch, 
with  the  full  power  of  both  offices.  It  was  not  long 
though  before  Antipater,  upon  whom  Caesar  had 
already  bestowed  the  privilege  of  the  Roman  citizen- 
ship, succeeded  in  becoming  the  procurator  of  Judea. 
By  this  decree  of  Caesar  the  Jews  lost  the  last  vestige 
of  political  independence  and  became  a  dependent 
principality.  Antipater  made  his  son  Phasaelus  gov- 
ernor of  Jerusalem,  and  Herod,  of  Galilee.  The 
Roman  Anthony  later  elevated  both  of  them  to  the 
rank  of  tetrarch.  Herod  the  Great  assumed  the  ti- 
tle of  king.  After  his  death,  the  Jewish  country  was 
divided  among  his  three  sons,  Archelaus  having  the 
provinces  of  Idumea,  Judea,  and  Samaria,  with  the 
title  of  ethnarch ;  Philip  the  country  east  of  Jordan, 
with  the  title  tetrarch ;  and  Herod  Antipas,  Gali- 
64 


THE  ROMAN  PERIOD  65 

lee  and  Peraea,  with  the  title  tetrarch.  Archelaus 
(Matth.  2,  22)  began  his  reign  with  such  acts  of 
cruelty  and  revenge  that  he  was  soon  banished  to 
Gaul.  After  that,  these  provinces  were  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  governors  (Pontius  Pilate,  Felix,  Fes- 
tus,  etc.),  who,  in  turn,  were  responsible  to  the  pro- 
prstor  or  proconsul  of  Syria.  Herod  Antipas  tried 
to  gain  the  title  of  King  for  himself,  but  was  cir- 
cumvented by  his  nephew,  Herod  Agrippa  I,  through 
whose  machinations  he  found  himself  exiled  to  Gaul. 
Herod  Agrippa  I  succeeded  gradually  in  having 
Palestine  made  a  province  separate  from  that  of 
Syria.  He  was  followed  by  his  son,  Agrippa  H, 
who  held  the  title  of  king.  It  was  under  his  reign 
that  the  party  of  Zealots  in  Jerusalem  became  so 
strong  that  they  stirred  up  a  rebellion  against  the 
Romans.  The  result  is  well-known.  The  Roman 
general  Vespasian  began  the  conquest  of  the  prov- 
ince and  made  the  plans  for  the  siege  of  the  city,  and 
his  son  Titus  took  Jerusalem.  The  conquerors  knew 
no  mercy.  The  city  was  sacked  and  plundered, 
razed  and  burned.  The  number  of  captives  remain- 
ing is  given  by  Josephus  as  amounting  to  97,000. 
Seventeen  thousand  young  men  were  sent  to  Alex- 
andria as  slaves,  other  thousands  were  kept  for  the 
plays  in  the  arena.  The  Jewish  nation  ceased  to 
exist.  The  Jews  were  dispersed  among  all  nations. 
That  was  in  the  year  70  A.  D. 


66     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 
Education   During  the   Roman   Period 

There  is  a  great  deal  more  to  be  said  for  this 
period  than  that  which  is  contained  in  Biblical  pas- 
sages. Nevertheless,  the  material  from  which  con- 
clusions may  be  drawn  is  comprehensive  and  satis- 
factory to  a  greater  extent  than  in  the  preceding 
periods.  Whether  Roman  learning  ever  exerted  a 
great  influence  on  the  Jewish  people  or  their  educa- 
tional system,  is  not  evident  and  is  highly  improba- 
ble. The  superscription  on  the  cross  was  indeed 
in  the  Hebrew,  the  Greek,  and  the  Latin  tongue, 
but  it  is  probable  that  the  Latin  was  merely  for  the 
sake  of  the  soldiers  and  to  emphasize  the  fact  that 
judgment  had  been  passed  under  Roman  jurisdiction. 
In  the  Roman  decrees  quoted  by  Josephus,  the  sep- 
aration or  isolation  of  the  Jews  from  the  people 
among  whom  they  were  living  is  commented  upon, 
and  they  were  allowed  to  live  and  act  in  all  things 
according  to  the  customs  of  their  forefathers. 

It  cannot  be  a  matter  of  surprise  then,  that,  in 
their  comparative  isolation,  the  Jews  retained  all 
their  laws  and  customs,  and  exercised  jurisdiction 
over  the  members  of  their  nation  in  all  minor  mat- 
ters pertaining  to  their  Law.  The  relation  of  par- 
ents to  their  children,  their  authority,  their  respon- 
sibility, and  also  the  love  which  they  owed  their 
offspring,  is  emphasized  in  several  cases.     "Behold 


THE  ROMAN  PERIOD  67 

thy  father  and  I  have  sought  thee  sorrowing,"  Luke 
2,  48.  "If  ye,  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give 
good  gifts  unto  your  children,"  Matth.  7,  11.  "The 
children  ought  not  to  lay  up  for  the  parents,  but  the 
parents  for  the  children,"  2  Cor.  12,  14.  "Ye  fath- 
ers, provoke  not  your  children  to  wrath,  but  bring 
them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord," 
Eph.  6,  4.  The  relation  of  the  children  toward  their 
parents  is  again  one  of  respect,  love,  and  obedience. 
"The  child  grew  and  waxed  strong  in  spirit,  filled 
with  wisdom,  and  the  grace  of  God  was  upon  Him. 
He  was  subject  unto  them.  He  increased 
in  wisdom,  and  in  stature,  and  in  favor  with  God 
and  man,"  Luke  2,  40,  51,  52.  "Honor  thy  father 
and  mother,  which  is  the  first  commandment  with 
promise:  that  it  may  be  well  with  thee  and  thou 
mayest  live  long  on  the  earth,"  Eph.  6,  2.  In  order 
to  maintain  the  right  relation  between  parents  and 
children,  the  discipline  spoken  of  in  the  Law  was 
maintained  with  all  the  rigor  which  the  Jews  were 
still  permitted  to  use.  "God  commanded,  saying: 
Honor  thy  father  and  mother;  and:  He  that  curs- 
eth  father  and  mother,  let  him  die  the  death," 
Matth.  15,  4.  "What  son  is  he  whom  the  father 
chasteneth  not?  But  if  ye  be  without  chastisement, 
whereof  all  are  partakers,  then  are  ye  bastards,  and 
not  sons,"  Hebr.  12,  7,  8. 

Parents  were  held  responsible  for  at  least  the  reli- 


68     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

gious  instruction  of  their  children,  for  the  bringing 
up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord.  The 
instruction,  however,  was  not  confined  to  the  home. 
The  synagogues  (houses  of  assembly,  of  prayer,  of 
teaching)  that  are  mentioned  throughout  the  histor- 
ical books  of  the  New  Testament,  had  their  origin 
at  the  time  of  the  first  kings:  "They  have  burned  up 
all  the  synagogues  of  God  in  the  land,"  Ps.  74,  8. 
At  the  time  of  the  Romans,  there  was  a  synagogue  in 
every  city  of  any  size  in  Palestine,  as  well  as  in 
many  other  cities  where  the  Jews  were  at  all  numer- 
ous. "Jesus  went  about  all  Galilee,  teaching  in 
their  synagogues,"  Matth.  4,  23.  9,  35.  13,  54- 
Mark  i,  21,  39.    6,  2.     Luke  4,  15.    13,  10.     John 

18,  20.  There  was  a  synagogue  at  Antioch  in  Pisi- 
dia  (Acts  13,  14),  Iconium  (Acts  14,  i),  Thessa- 
lonica  (Acts  17,  i),  Berea  (Acts  17,  10),  Athens 
(Acts  17,  17),  Corinth  (Acts  18,  4),  Ephesus 
(Acts  18,  19)  ;  there  were  several  in  Damascus 
(Acts  9,  2,  20),  Salamis  in  Cyprus  (Acts  13,  5), 
Alexandria  in  Egypt,  and  Antioch  in  Syria.  These 
synagogues  were  not  used  for  services  only,  consisting 
of  Scripture  readings  and  prayer,  but  also  for  lec- 
tures and  expositions  of  the  Scriptures  (Luke  4, 
21  ff.)  These  lectures  may  sometimes  have  been 
held  in  the  adjoining  "house  of  learning,"  Acts  19, 

19.  The  school  of  Tyrannus  mentioned  in  this  pas- 
sage was  probably  a  school    patterned    after    the 


THE  ROMAN  PERIOD  69 

Greek  "Gymnasia."  That  there  were  also  other 
schools  at  this  time,  appears  from  several  references 
in  the  New  Testament.  "After  three  days  they 
found  him  in  the  temple,  sitting  in  the  midst  of  the 
doctors,  both  hearing  them  and  asking  them  ques- 
tions," Luke  2,  46,  Here  we  have  a  school  of  a 
special  kind,  which  will  be  spoken  of  later.  "Paul 
was  brought  up  in  Jerusalem  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel, 
and  taught  according  to  the  perfect  manner  of  the 
law  of  the  fathers,"  Acts  22,  3.  Here  we  have  a 
school  of  a  still  different  kind,  and  apparently  a  very 
advanced  one,  for  Paul  was  versed  not  only  in  the 
Law,  but  also  in  secular  knowledge,  and  even  showed 
familiarity  with  Greek  poetry.  It  is  evident,  then, 
that  the  educational  system  of  the  Jews  was  devel- 
oped quite  highly  in  this  period.  Just  how  far  the 
Jews  were  advanced,  will  be  evident  from  the  dis- 
cussion of  Talmudic  times. 

THE  TALMUDIC  PERIOD 

The  Talmudic  period,  though  considered  as  be- 
ginning after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the 
dissolution  of  the  Jewish  nation,  may  nevertheless  be 
said  to  extend  back  to  the  time  of  the  exile.  There 
are  three  principal  reasons  for  this  statement.  In 
the  first  place,  as  noted  above,  Jewish  tradition  in 
regard  to  the  Great  Synagogue  and  the  oral  trans- 


70     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

mission  of  rabbinical  exposition  cannot  be  ignored 
entirely.  In  the  second  place,  the  nucleus  of  the 
Mishna  in  its  unwritten  form  extends  back  several 
centuries  before  Christ.  The  cessation  of  prophecy  re- 
moved a  certain  restriction  upon  writing,  and  the  ex- 
ample of  Jesus  Sirach  was  undoubtedly  imitated  of- 
tener  than  accounts  relate.  And  lastly,  many  of  the 
institutions  referred  to  in  the  Talmud  date  back  sev- 
eral centuries,  and  the  discussion  thus  throws  light 
on  conditions  that  existed  long  before  the  actual 
gathering  of  the  materials  in  book-form.  It  is,  un- 
fortunately, extremely  difficult  to  fix  dates  in  the 
discussion  with  the  necessary  exactness,  but  the  ap- 
proximate time  may  be  given  according  to  tradition. 
Even  at  the  time  of  Jesus,  the  "tradition  of  the 
elders"  played  an  important  part  in  some  discussions, 
Matth.  15,  2,  3,  and  elsewhere.  And  the  schools  of 
Gamaliel,  of  Hillel  and  Shammai,  where  the  pre- 
cepts of  tradition  were  taught  (Mishna)  were  in  a 
flourishing  condition  even  before  the  fall  of  Je- 
rusalem. After  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  Rabbi 
Johanan  ben  Zakkai,  who  had  gained  the  favor  of 
Vespasian,  asked  permission  to  establish  a  school  of 
Jewish  law,  and  when  this  was  given,  settled  at  Jab- 
neh,  or  Jamnia,  near  Joppa.  In  this  school,  to 
which  Jews  from  all  over  the  world  sent  their  sons, 
was  begun  the  final  development  of  the  form  of  the 
tradition  or  exposition  of  the  Law.     Gamaliel  the 


THE  ROMAN  PERIOD  71 

Younger  and  Akiba  were  especially  influential 
teachers.  About  the  end  of  the  second  century,  Rab- 
bi Juda  ben  Simon  was  the  leader  of  this  school.  He 
established  as  authoritative  and  decisive  the  Mishna 
of  Akiba,  which  probably  at  this  time  ceased  to  be 
oral  and  was  committed  to  writing.  The  Jabneh 
school  was  transferred  to  Tiberias,  but  soon  deteri- 
orated. The  scholastic  center  shifted  to  Babylon  in 
the  production  of  the  Gemara  or  the  Talmud  prop- 
er. The  great  teacher  instrumental  in  effecting  this 
change  was  Rabbi  Abba  Rab,  whose  school  at  Ba- 
bylon soon  had  1200  students.  His  academy  was 
located  at  Sura,  but  was  often  transferred  to  Pum- 
bedita.  Samuel's  academy  was  at  Nehardea,  a  con- 
tinuation, according  to  tradition,  of  the  academy 
founded  by  king  Jehoiachin. 

In  the  fifth  century  A.  D.,  Rabbi  Aschi  had  the 
oral  explanations,  discussions,  decisions,  etc.,  based 
on  the  Mishna  collected  in  the  Babylonian  Talmud. 
About  the  same  time,  the  teachers  in  Palestine  made 
a  similar  collection,  which  is  known  as  the  Jerusalem 
Talmud.  The  Mishna,  then,  is  the  oral  tradition, 
or  the  oral  common  law  of  the  Jews  since  the  time 
of  the  exile,  and,  in  part,  probably  dating  back  even 
farther.  The  Mid  rash,  or  commentary  in  general, 
embraces  every  kind  of  explanation  or  elucidation  of 
Scripture,  including  the  Mishna,  but  especially  the 
Gemara,  or  Talmud  proper,  and  the  Tosephta.  The 


72     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

Haggadah  is  the  illustrative  and  practical,  the  Hala- 
chah  the  exegetical  commentary  on  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. The  Halachah  collection  of  Judahha-Nasi 
(63  tracts)  is  generally  known  by  that  name,  while 
other  collections  of  Halachah  are  designated  as  Bar- 
aitha.  Among  these  collections  were  those  called 
Tosephta.  Peters  says:  "Rabbi  Judah  Hanassi  col- 
lected all  attainable  rulings  and  precedents  and  pub- 
lished them  in  what  we  call  the  Mishna  (1532  years 
after  the  giving  of  the  Torah).  .  .  .  Many  de- 
cisions not  included  (in  the  Mishna)  were  collected 
later  under  the  name  of  Boraithoth  in  a  work  called 
the  Tosephtha,  or  Addition  (Supplement).  .  .  . 
Yet  other  Boraithoth  are  to  be  found  in  the  Gemara. 
The  Gemara  is  a  comment  on  the  Mishna,  just  as 
the  Mishna  is  a  comment  on  the  Torah  or  Law,"  p. 

7-9. 

That  the  education  of  the  Jews  about  the  time  of 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  was  very  highly  ad- 
vanced, is  evident  from  such  examples  as  that  of 
Paul  (mentioned  above),  and  that  of  Josephus.  The 
latter  says  of  himself:  "I  was  brought  up  with  my 
brother,  .  .  .  and  I  made  mighty  proficiency  in 
the  improvements  of  my  learning,  and  appeared  to 
have  both  a  great  memory  and  understanding.  More- 
over, when  I  was  a  child,  and  about  fourteen  years 
of  age,  I  was  commended  to  all  for  the  love  I  had 
to  learning;  on  which  account  the  high  priests  and 


THE  ROMAN  PERIOD  73 

principal  men  of  the  city  came  then  frequently  to 
me  together,  in  order  to  know  my  opinion  about  the 
accurate  understanding  of  points  of  the  law"  (Life 
of  Flavius  Josephus,  No.  2).  "For  those  of  my  own 
nation  freely  acknowledge  that  I  far  exceed  them  in 
the  learning  belonging  to  Jews;  I  have  also  taken 
a  great  deal  of  pains  to  obtain  the  learning  of  the 
Greeks,  and  understand  the  elements  of  the  Greek 
language,  although  I  have  so  long  accustomed  my- 
self to  speak  our  own  tongue  that  I  cannot  pronounce 
Greek  with  sufficient  exactness;  for  our  nation  does 
not  encourage  those  that  learn  the  languages  of  many 
nations,  and  so  adorn  their  discourses  with  the 
smoothness  of  their  periods;  because  they  look  upon 
this  sort  of  accomplishment  as  common,  not  only  to 
all  sorts  of  free  men,  but  to  as  many  of  the  servants 
as  please  to  learn  them.  But  they  give  him  the 
testimony  of  being  a  wise  man,  who  is  fully  ac- 
quainted with  our  laws,  and  is  able  to  interpret 
their  meaning ;  on  which  account,  as  there  have  been 
many  who  have  done  their  endeavors  with  great 
patience  to  obtain  this  learning,  there  have  yet  hard- 
ly been  so  many  as  two  or  three  that  have  succeeded 
therein,  who  were  immediately  well  rewarded  for 
their  pains"  (Antiq.,  Book  XX,  Chap.  XI). 

Someone  may  argue  that  both  Paul  and  Josephus 
were  exceptions,  being  extraordinary  men,  even 
geniuses  or  at  least  unusually  gifted.     But  the  facts 


74    EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

show  that  they  had  the  opportunity  to  study  and  to 
advance  themselves  in  knovidedge,  right  in  the  midst 
of  their  own  people.  Moreover,  Josephus  writes  in 
a  very  general  way:  "Our  principal  care  of  all  is 
this,  to  educate  our  children  well,  and  we  think  it  to 
be  the  most  necessary  business  of  our  whole  life,  to 
observe  the  laws  that  have  been  given  us,  and  to 
keep  those  rules  of  piety  that  have  been  deliverd 
down  to  us"  (Against  Apion,  Book  I). 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  while  private  schools,  pro- 
phet schools,  academies  of  learning,  and  synagogues 
had  been  in  existence  for  quite  a  number  of  centuries, 
and  some  of  them,  at  various  times,  had  been  in  a 
flourishing  condition,  it  was  in  the  last  century  of 
the  existence  of  the  Jewish  nation  that  the  Jews 
advanced  still  farther  and  founded  a  school  system 
for  all  boys,  a  public  school  system,  maintained  at 
public  expense.  Simon  ben  Shetah,  who  lived  in  the 
reign  of  Alexander  Janneus  and  queen  Alexandra 
(about  106-70  B.  C.)  ordered  the  establishment  of 
schools  in  all  the  large  cities  of  Palestine.  And 
during  the  reign  of  Agrippa  II  (44-70  A.  D.) 
Joshua  ben  Gamla  extended  this  order  in  so  far  as  it 
now  included  all  cities  of  Palestine  and  fixed  a  min- 
imum age  for  school  boys  as  from  six  to  seven  years, 
or,  according  to  another  account,  the  completed  fifth 
year. 

The  educational  maxims  scattered  throughout  the 


THE  ROMAN  PERIOD  75 

various  tracts  of  the  Talmud  enable  one  to  gain  a 
very  fair  estimate  of  the  educational  ideals  of  the 
Jews.  By  the  saying:  "Who  is  a  wise  man?  He 
who  learns  from  everybody,"  Tract  Aboth  (IX,  82),  \ 
regular  school  instruction  was  by  no  means  ex-  ^ 
eluded.  "A  city  where  there  are  not  ten  unemployed  \ 
men  who  devote  all  their  time  to  the  study  of  the 
Law  must  be  considered  as  a  village,"  Tract  Megilla 
(VIII,  6  ff.).  These  men  were  commonly  known 
as  scribes  and  belonged  to  the  teaching  force  of  the 
city.  There  was,  then,  "no  excuse  for  illiteracy, 
neither  poverty  nor  family,"  Tract  Aboth  (IX,  29- 
30).  There  was  indeed,  at  one  time,  a  discussion 
whether  instruction  ought  not  to  be  restricted  to  the 
members  of  the  richer,  better  families,  but  apparent- 
ly the  argument  for  a  general,  unrestricted  instruc- 
tion prevailed.  "The  school  of  Shammai  maintain 
that  one  shall  teach  only  those  who  are  wise,  modest, 
rich,  and  come  from  a  good  family:  the  school  of 
Hillel,  however,  hold  that  one  may  teach  every  one, 
as  there  were  many  transgressors  in  Israel,  and  after 
they  had  become  upright  men,  pious,  and  righteous, 
engaged  in  the  study  of  the  Law,  they  had  the  good 
fortune  that  from  them  descended  men  of  upright- 
ness, piety,  and  righteousness,"  Tract  Aboth  (IX, 
19).  Some  of  the  more  gifted  scholars  among  the 
Jews  must  have  attained  to  a  very  high  degree  of 
learning,  for  it  is  said  of  the  Sanhedrin:  "Some  of 


76     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

its  members  must  be  able  to  speak  seventy  languages, 
so  an  interpreter  would  not  be  needed,"  Tract  Sanhe- 
drin  (XV,  40).  Women  were  not  entirely  excluded 
from  all  learning.  "It  is  obligatory  for  women  to 
hear  the  reading  of  the  Megilla,"  Tract  Megilla 
(VIII,  7).  The  Megilla  includes  the  Song  of  Sol- 
omon, Ruth,  Lamentations,  Ecclesiastes,  and  Esther. 
There  is  no  evidence,  however,  that  women  were  ex- 
cluded from  the  general  reading  and  study  of  the 
Law,  especially  since  so  many  of  the  ordinances  con- 
cerned them.  Some  women  among  the  Jews  were 
even  highly  educated.  "Culture  in  a  woman  is  bet- 
ter than  gold,"  Peters,  p.  159.  As  for  the  children, 
though  they  were  prized  very  highly,  as  will  be 
shown  presently,  their  position  was  always  a  subor- 
dinate one."  "One  adduces  no  proof  from  a  minor," 
Tract  Megilla  (VIII,  54). 

The  office  of  the  teacher  was  a  highly  respected 
and  a  most  important  one.  A  good  teacher  was  val- 
ued as  highly  as  the  most  important  official  of  the 
state,  though,  at  times,  especially  in  the  academies, 
he  served  without  pay,  Tract  Aboth  (IX,  35).  "The 
teachers  are  the  guardians  of  the  State,"  Peters,  p. 
161.  "He  who  instructs  a  child  is  as  if  he  had  cre- 
ated it,"  ibid.  "You  should  revere  the  teacher  even 
more  than  the  father.  The  latter  only  brought  you 
into  the  world,  the  former  indicates  the  way  into 
the  next.     But  blessed  is  the  son  who  has  learned 


THE  ROMAN  PERIOD  77 

from  his  father:  he  shall  revere  him  both  as  his 
father  and  his  master ;  and  blessed  is  the  father  who 
has  instructed  his  son,"  Peters,  p.  165.  This  rever- 
ence was  carried  so  far  that  we  read:  "He  who 
learns  from  another  one  chapter,  one  halachah,  one 
verse,  or  one  word  or  even  a  single  letter,  is  bound 
to  respect  him,"  Tract  Aboth,  Chap.  6,  Mish.  3.  The 
teaching  and  the  studying  of  the  Law  were  placed 
above  everything  else.  "The  honoring  of  father  and 
mother,  acts  of  benevolence,  hospitality  to  strangers, 
visiting  the  sick,  devotion  in  prayer,  promotion  of 
peace  between  man  and  man,  and  study  in  general 
(remain  intact  against  the  exigencies  of  the  world 
to  come),  but  the  study  of  the  Law  outweighs  them 
all,"  Tract  Shabbath  (Hershon,  13,  49).  "The 
study  of  the  Law  is  of  greater  merit  to  rescue  one 
from  accidental  death  than  building  the  temple,  and 
greater  than  honoring  father  or  mother,"  Tract 
Megilla  (Hershon,  13,  49).  This  fact,  that  teach- 
ers were  held  in  such  high  respect,  is  not  even 
changed  by  reference  to  the  somewhat  obscure  pas- 
sage: "Seven  have,  in  the  popular  regard,  no  portion 
in  the  world  to  come :  a  notary,  a  school-master,  the 
best  of  doctors,  a  judge  in  his  native  place,  a  con- 
juror, a  congregational  reader,  and  a  butcher," 
Tract  Aboth  d'Rabbi  Nathan.  This  difficult  pas- 
sage is,  however,  explained  to  some  extent  by  the 
following:    "The  judge  should  ever  regard  himself 


78     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

as  if  he  had  a  sword  laid  upon  his  thigh,  and  Ge- 
henna were  yawning  near  him ;  the  best  physicians 
are  destined  for  hell,  the  most  upright  butcher  is  a 
partner  of  Amalek."  The  underlying  idea  seems  to 
be  that  school-masters,  like  the  other  professional 
and  trades-people  mentioned,  are  so  liable  to  sin 
grievously  in  their  calling  that  there  is  little  hope  for 
them  to  escape  everlasting  punishment.  A  teacher 
was  admonished:  "Teach  the  children  of  the  poor 
without  compensation,  and  do  not  favor  the  children 
of  the  rich,"  Peters,  p.  163.  Only  even-tempered 
men  were  permitted  in  this  important  station.  "No 
irritable  man  can  be  a  teacher,"  Tract  Aboth  (IX, 
60,  61 ).  The  older  and  more  experienced  the  teach- 
er was,  the  greater  was  his  value  to  the  community. 
"Whom  does  he  resemble  who  learns  from  the 
young?  Him  who  eats  unripe  grapes  and  drinks  the 
wine  fresh  from  the  winepress.  But  whom  does  he 
resemble  who  learns  from  old  men?  Him  who  eats 
ripe  grapes  and  drinks  old  wine,"  Tract  Aboth 
(IX,  87).  The  ideal  teacher  is  described  as  follows: 
"The  following  fifteen  customs  are  ascribed  to  the 
sages:  He  is  pleasant  in  entering,  and  so  also  when 
leaving;  is  prudent  in  his  fear  for  Heaven;  versed  in 
wisdom;  wise  in  his  ways,  has  a  good  conception,  a 
retentive  memory,  is  clear  in  his  answers,  questions 
to  the  point  and  answers  according  to  the  Law;  he 
learns  something  new  from  every  chapter  taught  to 


THE  ROMAN  PERIOD  79 

him ;  he  is  going  to  the  wise,  he  learns  for  the  pur- 
pose of  teaching  it  and  performing  it,"  Tract  Derech 
Eretz-Zuta  (IX,  23).  That  a  teacher  who  made 
a  habit  of  flogging  was  not  retained  is  shown  in  the 
case  of  a  school-master  who  was  removed  "because 
he  struck   too   much   the   pupils,"    Tract    Maccoth 

(XVII,  40). 

The  relation  between  teachers  and  pupils  in  gen- 
eral was  to  be  one  of  respect  and  consideration  for 
each  other.  The  school-children  were  regarded  as 
the  greatest  asset  of  the  nation.  "The  world  de- 
pends on  its  school-children,"  Peters,  p.  158.  "A 
town  which  has  no  school  should  be  abolished,"  ibid. 
"Jerusalem  was  destroyed  because  the  instruction  of 
the  young  was  neglected,"  p.  159.  "The  world  is 
only  saved  by  the  breath  of  the  school-children," 
ibid.  "Even  for  the  re-building  of  the  Temple  the 
instruction  of  the  children  must  not  be  interrupted," 
ibid.  A  great  teacher  said  of  himself:  "I  learn 
much  from  my  masters,  more  however  from  my  col- 
leagues, and  still  more  from  my  disciples,"  Tract 
Maccoth  (XVII,  25).  On  the  other  hand,  respect- 
ful consideration  should  actuate  the  pupil.  "If  the 
master  err,  the  scholar  should  inform  him,  and  not 
wait  until  it  is  published  in  order  to  gain  honor  for 
himself,"  Tract  Shebuoth   (XVII,  50). 

So  far  as  pupils,  disciples,  or  scholars  in  general 
are  concerned,  there  are  some  interesting  classifica- 


8o    EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

tions  to  be  found  in  the  Talmud.  "There  are  four 
kinds  of  pupils:  one  understands  readily  but  forgets 
soon — there  the  advantage  is  swallowed  by  the  fail- 
ing; another  grasps  but  slowly  and  seldom  forgets — 
there  the  failing  is  outweighed  by  the  talent;  a  third 
understands  readily  and  is  slow  to  forget — his  is  a 
good  portion ;  a  fourth  understands  slowly  and  for- 
gets quickly — his  is  a  poor  endowment,"  Tract 
Aboth  (IX,  131).  Almost  of  the  same  kind  is  a 
passage  following  shortly  after:  "There  are  four 
kinds  of  the  disciples  of  the  wise:  sponge,  funnel, 
strainer,  and  sieve:  sponge — sucking  up  all  things; 
funnel — allowing  all  that  is  received  in  the  one  end 
to  flow  out  at  the  other;  strainer — letting  the  wine 
run  through  and  retaining  the  dregs ;  sieve — blowing 
ofi  the  bran  and  keeping  the  flour,"  Tract  Aboth 
(IX,  138).  A  passage  which  presents  the  same  idea  is 
found  a  few  pages  before  (IX,  98).  That  the  ad- 
vantage of  absorbing  readily,  of  a  perceptive  mem- 
ory, lies  with  the  young,  is  expressed  in  the  follow- 
ing passage:  "One  who  is  taught  when  young  ab- 
sorbs the  words  of  the  Torah  in  his  blood,  and  he 
can  utter  them  explicitly,  but  the  reverse  is  with  one 
who  is  taught  when  old.  There  is  also  a  proverb 
to  this  effect:  If  thou  hast  not  desired  them  in  thy 
youth,  how  wilt  thou  reach  them  in  thy  old  age?" 
Tract  Aboth  (IX,  88,  also  85).  "To  what  may  he 
be  compared  who  teaches  a  child?    To  one  who 


THE  ROMAN  PERIOD  8i 

writes  on  clean  paper ;  and  to  what  may  he  be  com- 
pared who  teaches  an  old  man  ?  To  one  who  writes 
on  blotted  paper,"  Peters,  p.  162.  For  a  complete 
religious  education  a  knowledge  not  only  of  Scrip- 
ture, but  of  the  Mishna  and  Gemara  (Midrash) 
also,  including  the  Halachah,  was  required.  "Who- 
soever is  versed  in  Midrash,  but  not  in  Halachah, 
has  not  tasted  of  wisdom ;  and  he  who  is  the  oppo- 
site, has  not  tasted  of  the  fear  of  sin.  .  .  .  One 
who  is  versed  in  Midrash,  but  not  in  Halachoth,  is 
like  unto  a  strong  man,  but  who  is  unarmed;  one 
who  is  opposite  is  like  an  armed  weakling.  One,  how- 
ever, who  is  versed  in  both  is  like  unto  a  man  who  is 
both  strong  and  armed,"  Tract  Aboth  (IX,  loi). 
The  meaning  is  that  theoretical  knowledge  and  prac- 
tical application  must  go  hand  in  hand.  The  age,  at 
which  the  various  parts  of  religious  instruction 
should  be  given,  is  stated  as  follows:  "One  five  years 
old  should  study  Scripture ;  ten  years — Mishna  ; 
thirteen  years  old  should  practice  the  commandments; 
fifteen  years  old  should  study  Gemara;  at  twenty, 
pursue  the  study  of  the  Law,"  Tract  Aboth  (IX, 
133).  The  ages  given  in  this  outline  are  approxi- 
mately the  ages  of  the  pupils  in  the  various  schools : 
infant  school,  elementary  school,  secondary  school, 
academy  or  college. 

In  study,  the  greatest  industry,  the  most  painstak- 
ing application  was  required  on  the  part  of  the  pu- 


82     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

pil,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  most  indefatigable  pa- 
tience on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  "Every  disciple 
who  has  studied  and  then  abandons  his  studies,  has 
no  share  in  the  world  to  come.  .  .  .  Whoever 
does  not  visit  the  college  which  is  in  his  city,  has  no 
share  in  the  world  to  come."  Tract  Aboth  (IX, 
122).  "If  you  interrupt  your  studies  for  one  day, 
it  will  take  you  two  to  regain  what  you  have  lost," 
Peters,  p.  162.  The  patient  teaching  and  learning 
by  rote  was  carried  so  far  that  "Rabbi  Perida  had  a 
pupil  to  whom  he  had  to  rehearse  a  lesson  four  hun- 
dred times  before  the  latter  comprehended  it,"  and 
in  one  case,  when  the  mind  of  the  pupil  had  been  dis- 
tracted, "he  repeated  the  lesson  a  second  four  hun- 
dred times,"  Tract  Eiruvin  (Hershon,  242,  57). 
The  rule  was  :  "A  master  is  bound  to  rehearse  a 
lesson  to  his  pupil  four  times,"  Tract  Eiruvin,  Her- 
shon, 73,  26.  The  rehearsing  and  the  memorizing 
of  a  lesson  was  to  be  carried  on  aloud.  "It  is  re- 
corded that  Rabbi  Eliezer  had  a  disciple  who  also 
studied  in  silence,  but  that  after  three  years  he  for- 
got all  that  he  had  learned,"  Tract  Eiruvin,  Her- 
shon 224,  29.  "Rav  says  a  man  should  never  ab- 
sent himself  from  the  lecture-hall,  not  even  for  one 
hour;  for  the  above  Mishna  had  been  taught  at  col- 
lege for  many  years,  but  the  reason  of  it  had  never 
been  made  plain  till  the  hour  when  Rabbi  Chanina 
ben  Akavia  came  and  explained  it,"  Tract   Shab- 


THE  ROMAN  PERIOD  83 

bath,  Hershon,  9,  31,  The  amount  of  study  ex- 
pected from  a  boy  was  so  great  that  it  endangered 
his  health.  "A  boy  at  thirteen  years  of  age  is  bound 
to  observe  the  usual  fasts  in  full,  i.  e.  throughout  the 
whole  day.  A  girl  is  bound  to  do  so  when  only 
twelve.  Rashi  gives  this  as  the  reason:  A  boy  is 
supposed  to  be  weaker  than  a  girl  on  account  of  the 
enervating  effect  of  much  study,"  Tract  Kethuboth, 
Hershon,  162,  27.  It  was  only  after  the  efforts  of 
several  years  had  resulted  in  total  failure  that  a  pu- 
pil was  discouraged  from  continuing  his  studies.  "A 
learner  who,  after  five  years,  sees  no  profit  in  study- 
ing, will  never  see  it.  Rabbi  Yossi  says,  after  three 
years,  as  it  is  written  (Daniel  i,  4,  5),  'That  they 
should  be  taught  the  literature  and  the  language  of 
the  Chaldeans,'  so  educating  them  in  three  years," 
Tract  Chullin,  Hershon,  88,  35. 

The  education  of  the  children  began  at  home,  and 
the  responsibility  of  the  parents  for  the  instruction 
of  the  children  never  ceased  until  they  had  reached 
manhood.  In  order  to  make  the  fulfillment  of  these 
obligations  possible,  it  was  required  of  children  that 
they  honor  and  obey  their  parents.  "Where  the  chil- 
dren honor  their  parents,  there  God  dwells,  there  He 
is  honored,"  Peters,  p.  64.  "The  honor  and  rever- 
ence due  to  parents  are  equal  to  the  honor  and  rev- 
erence due  to  God,"  ibid.  "Respect  your  parents  as 
you  respect  Me,  says  God,"  p.  65.    "A  son  must,  if 


84    EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

necessary,  feed  and  support  his  parents,"  ibid.  "A 
child  owes  his  h'fe  to  three:  to  God,  to  his  father,  and 
to  his  mother,"  ibid.  "He  who  honors  his  father 
and  mother  enjoys  the  fruit  in  this  life,  and  stores 
up  a  treasure  for  the  future,"  p.  66.  "While  the 
son  honors  his  parents,  God  holds  it  as  if  He  were 
dwelling  near  the  child,  and  were  Himself  receiv- 
ing honor,"  ibid.  "Even  if  it  happens  that  the  son 
is  a  teacher,  yet  if  the  father  is  present,  the  son  must 
rise  before  him  in  the  presence  of  all  his  pupils,"  ibid. 
"A  child  must  not  contradict  his  father,  and  when  he 
names  him,  he  must  use  a  term  of  respect,  such  as 
'my  honored  father,'  "  p.  67.  "A  child  must  love 
and  honor  his  parents  while  they  are  living,  and  must 
love  and  respect  them  after  they  are  dead ;  and  as 
they  loved  and  honored  God,  he  must  love  and  honor 
God,  and  thus  make  his  parents  live  again  in  his  own 
good  deeds,"  ibid.  "If  in  after  life  the  son  prospers 
and  is  richer  than  his  father,  he  must  see  that  his 
prosperity  is  shared  by  his  parents.  He  must  not 
live  in  greater  luxury  than  they;  he  must  not  allow 
them  to  suffer  poverty  while  he  enjoys  wealth,"  ibid. 
In  order  to  show  to  what  extent  one  is  bound  to 
honor  his  father  and  mother,  Rav  Ulla  told  the  story 
of  the  Gentile  son  who  would  not  even  wake  his 
father,  though  he  had  the  promise  of  great  gain, 
should  he  do  so,  Tract  Kiddushin,  Hershon,  274,  13. 
The  general  duty  of  the  parents  toward  their  chil- 


THE  ROMAN  PERIOD  85 

dren  consisted  in  this  that  they  were  responsible  for 
their  bringing  up  and  had  to  make  this  their  special 
care.  "He  who  loves  his  wife  as  his  own  self,  and 
he  who  educates  his  children  in  the  right  way,  to 
him  applies  the  divine  promise,  'Thou  shalt  know  that 
there  is  peace  in  thy  tent  ,'  "  Peters,  p,  62.  "The 
daughter  is  as  the  mother  was,"  p.  63.  "What  the 
child  says  out  of  doors,  he  has  learnt  in  doors,"  ibid. 
"What  a  child  speaks  in  the  street,  it  has  heard 
either  from  its  father  or  from  its  mother,"  Tract 
Succah  (Vn,  92).  "It  is  a  woman  alone  through 
whom  God's  blessings  are  vouchsafed  to  a  house.  She 
teaches  the  children,  speeds  the  husband  to  the  house 
of  worship  and  instruction,  welcomes  him  when  he 
returns,  keeps  the  house  godly  and  pure;  and  God's 
blessings  rest  upon  all  these  things,"  Peters,  p.  63. 
"The  daughter's  doings  have  been  the  mother's  acts," 
p.  64.  The  responsibility  of  the  father  included  not 
only  the  providing  of  instruction  in  schools,  but  the 
teaching  of  a  trade  to  his  sons.  "It  is  a  father's 
duty,  not  only  to  provide  for  his  minor  children,  but 
also  to  take  care  of  their  instruction,  and  to  teach 
his  son  a  trade  and  whatever  is  necessary  for  his  fu- 
ture welfare,"  Peters,  p.  64.  "He  who  teaches  his 
son  no  trade  is  as  if  he  taught  him  to  steal,"  p.  86. 
"He  who  does  not  teach  his  son  a  handicraft  trade 
neglects  his  parental  duty,"  ibid.  "Beautiful  is  the 
intellectual  occupation,  if  combined  with  some  prac- 


86     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

tical  work,"  p.  87.    "It  is  well  to  add  a  trade  to  your 
studies,  you  will  then  be  free  from  sin,"  ibid. 
I  During  the  first  years  of  the  child's  life,  from  its 

birth  or,  more  exactly,  from  the  time  it  was  weaned 
(i  Sam.  I,  24,  2  Mace.  7,  28)  till  the  completed 
fourth  or  fifth  year,  so  long  as  it  remained  exclusively 
in  the  home,  the  parents  had  the  special  duty  of  be- 
ginning its  instruction  in  the  Scriptures.  "As  soon 
as  he  can  talk,  his  father  shall  teach  him  the  Torah 
and  to  read  Shema.  (What  is  meant  by  Torah? 
.  The  verse  of  Deut.  33,  4:  The  law  which 
Moses  commanded  us  is  the  inheritance  of  the  con- 
gregation of  Jacob.  What  is  meant  by  Shema? 
The  first  verse,  Deut.  6,  4:  Hear,  O  Israel!"  The 
prayer  Kaddish  in  its  various  forms,  a  liturgical 
prayer  or  doxology  based  upon  Ezek.  38,  23,  begin- 
ning, as  a  rule,  with  the  words:  "Magnified  be  Thy 
name,  O  Lord!"  used  especially  upon  very  solemn 
occasions,  was  also  taught  in  early  youth  and  was 
thought  to  have  great  power,  notably  also  for  pre- 
serving from  Gehenna,  Tract  Kitzur  Sh'eh,  Her- 
shon,  332,  10.  It  is  related  of  Lois,  the  grandmoth- 
er, and  Eunice,  the  mother  of  Timothy,  that  they  in- 
structed him  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  "from  a  child," 
2  Tim,  I,  5.  3,  15.  The  expression  apo  brephous 
shows  that  the  beginning  of  Timothy's  religious  in- 
struction had  been  made  in  his  infancy.  That  even 
the  very  small  children  were  accustomed  to  religious 


THE  ROMAN  PERIOD  87 

observances,  appears  from  the  following  passage: 
"Children  are  not  made  to  fast  on  the  Day  of  Atone- 
ment, but  when  one  or  two  years  old,  they  are  ac- 
customed to  do  it,  so  that  they  become  habituated  to 
obey  the  religious  commandments,"  Tract  Yomah 
(VI,  124).  In  their  entire  treatment  of  children 
parents  were  warned  to  be  entirely  impartial,  for 
nothing  so  harms  discipline  as  injustice.  "A  man 
should  never  show  preference  for  one  child  above 
his  other  children,"  Tract  Sabbath  (i,  19). 

With  the  completion  of  the  fourth  or  fifth  year, 
according  to  the  order  of  Joshua  ben  Gamla,  the 
time  came  for  the  pupil  to  go  to  the  first  school,  the 
infant  school,  the  Talmudic  timukot  shel  bet  rab- 
ban,  the  'babies  of  the  teacher's  house.'  This  school 
was  later,  together  with  the  elementary  school,  called 
Heder.  It  is  concerning  the  discipline  in  a  school  of 
this  kind,  probably,  that  we  read:  "Never  tease  a 
young  pupil  .  .  .  their  kingdom  is  behind  their 
tears  (i.  e.  when  they  become  older  they  seek  re- 
venge)," Tract  Pesachim  (V,  38).  It  has  been 
thought  that  scribes  had  charge  of  the  infant  school. 
Information  on  the  subject  is  wanting.  In  the  later 
Heder,  a  lower  Rabbi  was  teacher.  Besides  contin- 
uing their  Scriptural  studies  (principally  by  rote), 
the  young  pupils  were  now  taught  the  Hebrew  alpha- 
bet. A  very  ingenious  and  interesting  method  of 
making  the  memorizing  of  the  letters  easy,  by  com- 


88     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

paring  them  with  animals  and  other  well-known  ob- 
jects, is  given  in  Tract  Sabbath  (ii,  208).  The 
pupils  also  learned  to  count,  which  was  quite  easily 
taught,  since  the  letters  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet  are, 
at  the  same  time,  their  numbers. 

With  his  entry  into  the  elementary  school,  the 
Bet-ha-Sefer  or  'House  of  the  Book,'  the  boy  was 
fully  launched  into  his  education.  Boys  from  their 
sixth  to  their  completed  ninth  year  attended  this 
school.  It  happened,  however,  especially  in  later 
years,  that  children  up  to  the  age  of  thirteen  were  en- 
rolled in  the  primary  school.  It  seems  that  a  fee 
was  required  of  the  boys,  at  least  at  some  time:  "To 
begin  the  study  of  the  Torah  required  200  zuz," 
Tract  Baba  Bathra  (XIV,  323).  If  there  was  no 
building  erected  for  the  purpose,  a  dwelling  was  con- 
verted into  a  school-house,  and  the  equipment  was 
very  meagre.  There  was  an  elevated  place  or  plat- 
form for  the  teacher.  The  pupils,  in  early  times, 
squatted  before  him  on  the  floor  or  ground.  Later 
on,  at  least  in  some  of  the  schools  (Hillel's),  there 
were  chairs  for  the  pupils.  "Let  thy  house  be  the 
meeting-place  of  the  wise ;  sit  gladly  at  their  feet, 
and  drink  in  their  words  with  avidity.  The  house 
should  be  for  the  use  of  the  scholars  and  their  dis- 
ciples. (The  pupil)  shall  not  sit  before  thee  on 
the  bed,  chair,  or  bench,  but  on  the  floor,  and  every 
word  that  thou  utterest  he  shall  receive  with  awe, 


THE  ROMAN  PERIOD  89 

terror,  fear,  and  trembling,"  Tract  Aboth  (IX,  27 
ff.).  Twenty-five  children  was  the  highest  number 
of  pupils  permitted  to  each  teacher  in  a  class  for 
elementarj'  instruction.  There  should  be  an  assistant 
appointed,  if  there  be  forty  in  number;  and  if  fifty 
there  should  be  two  competent  teachers.  Tract  Baba 
Bathra,Hershon,  179,  77.  There  is  a  story  told  in  this 
connection  about  a  teacher's  negligence  and  superfi- 
ciality which  is  very  significant.  The  rabbi  or 
city  penman  J  who  taught  the  boys,  was  designated  as 
teacher.  His  Hebrew  name  was  modeled  after  the 
Greek  paidagogos.  There  were  also  artisan  mas- 
ters for  the  instruction  in  the  trades,  upon  which  the 
Talmud  insisted,  Tract  Sabbath  (i,  22).  The  re- 
ligious subjects  taken  up  in  the  Bet-ha-Sefer  were 
the  book  of  Leviticus,  followed  by  all  the  books  of 
the  Bible.  This  is  the  order  in  which  Aquiba  and  his 
son  studied.  In  addition,  there  was  the  review  of  the 
alphabet  and  the  alphabet  backwards,  reading  and 
writing,  grammar  and  composition.  Some  attention 
was  also  given  to  hygiene  in  the  question  of  proper 
diet  for  school-boys.  Tract  Sabbath,  11,  318.  The 
age  of  the  boys  in  this  school  was  considered  the 
best  for  memory  work.  "He  who  learns  as  a  lad, 
what  is  he  like  ?  To  ink  written  on  fresh  paper.  And 
he  who  learns  when  old,  what  is  he  like?  To  ink 
written  on  blotted  paper,"  Tract  Aboth  (IX,  67). 
The  secondary  school,  Bet-ha-Midrash,  the  'house 


90    EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

of  study'  or  'house  of  learning,'  was  the  next  step  in 
the  boy's  education.  According  to  rabbinical  tradi- 
tion, this  school  looks  back  upon  a  long  term  of  ser- 
vice. The  school  of  Samuel  at  Rama  (i  Sam.  19, 
19)  was  said  to  have  been  one  of  this  type.  Solo- 
mon built  many,  Hezekiah  fostered  them,  the  young 
men  of  the  tribe  of  Issachar,  with  the  aid  of  Zebulun, 
the  merchant,  attended  them.  At  the  time  of  Vespa- 
sian, Jewish  writers  assert,  there  were  480  schools, 
Bet-ha-Sefer  together  with  Bet-ha-Midrash,  in  Jeru- 
salem. There  were  houses  or  rooms  set  apart  for 
the  purpose  of  teaching,  called  houses  of  learning, 
where  the  pupils  sat  before  their  masters,  at  the 
time  of  Hillel,  on  chairs,  Tract  Aboth  (IX,  137). 
The  average  age  of  the  pupils  in  this  school  was  from 
ten  to  fourteen  years.  The  rabbis,  who  had  charge 
of  the  schools,  were  not  to  receive  pay  from  the  pu- 
pils. Tract  Derech  Eretz-Zuta  (IX,  24).  There 
was  evidently  a  privilege  as  to  choice  of  teachers, 
though  the  passage  may  refer  to  academies  only. 
"When  thou  hast  studied  under  one  master,  say  not: 
'It  is  enough!'  but  go  and  study  under  another. 
.  .  .  It  is  a  duty  to  study  under  three  masters.  .  .  . 
Because  thou  canst  not  know  which  master's  teach- 
ing will  remain  with  thee,  or  perhaps  all  are  good," 
Tract  Aboth  (IX,  20).  The  instruction  consisted 
principally  in  the  Mishna,  Tract  Kethuboth,  Her- 
shon,  138,  19,  which  was  memorized  and  explained 


THE  ROMAN  PERIOD  91 

because  a  boy  of  thirteen  was  to  perform  the  com- 
mandments, Tract  Aboth  (IX,  133).  The  reason 
why  there  was  such  a  thorough  drill  in  religious  in- 
struction with  its  applications  is  given :  "Without 
the  knowledge  of  religion  there  can  be  no  true  cul- 
ture, and  without  true  culture  there  is  no  knowledge 
of  religion.  Where  there  is  no  wisdom,  there  is  no 
fear  of  God,  and  without  fear  of  God  there  is  no 
wisdom,"  Tract  Aboth  (IX,  79).  There  was  spec- 
ial zeal  in  the  effort  to  get  the  lessons  soon  and  not 
procrastinate.  "Children  in  their  rabbi's  house 
(school)  have  arranged  their  paragraphs  and  read  be- 
fore the  lamplight,"  Tract  Sabbath  (1,  24).  The 
course  of  study  was  an  unintermittent  one.  "Why 
do  disciples  die  while  young?  Not  because  they  are 
adulterers,  or  robbers,  but  because  they  interrupt 
their  studies,  and  occupy  themselves  with  idle  con- 
versation, and  also  because  they  do  not  begin  again 
where  they  stopped,"  Tract  Aboth  (IX,  93  f?.). 
The  discipline  of  the  school  was,  according  to  rab- 
binical rules,  administered  with  the  greatest  wisdom.. 
"Mar  Zutra  the  Pious,  when  a  young  scholar  was 
delinquent  and  deserving  to  be  reprimanded,  first 
reprimanded  himself  and  then  the  young  scholar," 
Tract  Moed  Katan  (VII,  33)- 

It  may  be  interesting,  before  continuing  in  the 
discussion  of  the  college,  to  note  that  there  was  a 
similar  institution  called  Bet  Waad,  'meeting-place 


92     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

of  scholars,'  in  the  days  of  Jose  ben  Jaezer  of  Zereda 
in  Maccabean  times,  where  the  hearers  or  disciples 
sat  on  the  ground  before  their  teachers. 

There  was  one  high  school  of  special  renown  in 
Jerusalem  in  the  temple  hall,  where  advanced  pu- 
pils were  admitted  and  discussions  of  the  Law  and 
the  Mishna  were  held.  That  was  the  Bet-ha-Mid- 
rash-ha-gadol,  which  the  boy  Jesus  visited,  when  he 
was  twelve  years  old,  Luke  2. 

The  college  was  the  meeting-plaqe  of  advanced 
scholars,  such  as  had  finished  the  Torah  and  Mishna, 
as  well  as  the  elementary  studies  in  other  branches. 
For  though  the  Jews  made  religious  teaching  the 
basis  of  all  instruction,  yet  they  did  not  by  any  means 
confine  their  school  system  to  religious  instruction. 
"It  is  necessary  to  have  a  knowledge  of  the  world, 
beside  a  knowledge  of  the  Holy  Law,"  Peters,  p. 
164.  And  their  aim  was  certainly  a  splendid  one. 
"The  ultimate  end  of  all  knowledge  and  wisdom  is 
man's  inner  purification  and  the  performance  of 
good  and  noble  deeds,"  p.  163.  Though  the  various 
schools  were  not  so  sharply  defined  as  to  age  as  in 
our  day,  the  rule  was  that  the  pupils  of  the  college 
were  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  or  twenty  years  old. 
There  was  a  college  in  every  larger  city,  apparently, 
because  the  Talmud  speaks  of  them  quite  casually. 
Tract  Aboth  (IX,  122).  The  term  academy  seems 
to  have  been  confined  to  the  schools  of  the  great 


THE  ROMAN  PERIOD  93 

educational  centers  of  Nehardea,  Sura,  and  Pumbe- 
dita,  in  Babylonia,  and  Jerusalem,  Jamnia,  and  Ti- 
berias, in  Palestine.  In  many  of  the  colleges  the  stu- 
dents were  evidently  crowded  for  room,  because  it 
is  stated  that  four  and  even  six  men  sat  to  one 
(square?)  ell,  Tract  Erubin  (III,  119).  The  col- 
leges seem  to  have  been  conducted  to  some  extent  on 
the  boarding-school  plan.  "The  disciples  of  the  col- 
lege ate  in  the  inns  of  the  valley  and  passed  the 
night  at  the  college,"  Tract  Erubin  (III,  171). 
There  was  a  hostelry  (inn)  started  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  college  of  Eliezer,  Tract 
Aboth  (IX,  30  ff.).  In  the  college,  a  teach- 
er was  not  limited  to  twenty-five  pupils  as  in  the  ele- 
mentary grades,  because  Hillel  the  First  had  eighty 
disciples.  Tract  Aboth  (IX,  54).  Moreover,  "in 
the  college  the  most  scholarly  has  preference  to  age," 
Tract  Baba  Bathra  (XIV,  236). 

As  to  the  subjects  taught,  the  religious  subjects  of 
course  ranked  first.  The  passages  praising  the  study 
of  the  Law  are  almost  innumerable.  A  few  of  the 
shorter  ones  are:  "There  is  no  love  such  as  the  love 
of  the  Torah.  The  words  of  the  Torah  are  as  dif- 
ficult to  acquire  as  silken  garments,"  Tract  Aboth 
(IX,  97).  "Turn  it  and  turn  it  again,  etc.,"  Tract 
Aboth  (IX,  133  ff.).  "Study  Law  in  old  age  as 
well  as  in  youth,  in  years  of  famine  as  well  as  in 
years  of  plenty,"  Tract  Aboth  (IX,  20).    The  sub- 


94     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

jects  taught  are  enumerated  in  Tract  Succah  (VII, 
37  f.)  as  follows:  "Bible,  Mishna,  Gemara,  Halak- 
hoth,  Agadoth,  observations  of  the  Bible,  observa- 
tions of  the  scribes,  lenient  ones  and  vigorous  ones, 
the  analogies  of  expression,  equinoxes,  geometries,  the 
language  of  the  angels  and  the  language  of  the  evil 
spirits,  and  the  language  of  the  trees,  the  fables,  the 
great  things,  the  heavenly  chariots  and  the  small 
things,  the  discussion  of  Abayi  and  Rabha."  It  does 
not  occasion  surprise  therefore  that  we  hear  of  lec- 
tures on  profane  subjects  by  a  noted  teacher.  Tract 
Pesachim  (V,  38).  And  since  the  Torah  was  taught 
and  reviewed  in  the  college,  not  merely  by  memoriz- 
ing, but  by  discussion  and  argumentation  as  well, 
there  was  a  training  in  logic  and  rhetoric  which  was 
of  great  value.  There  must  also  have  been  instruc- 
tion in  medicine  given,  at  least  to  some  extent,  be- 
cause physicians  are  so  often  spoken  of  and  various 
remedies  discussed.  It  is  true,  of  course,  that  a 
great  many  remedies  were  those  of  superstitition  and 
witchcraft. 

The  training  at  the  college  was  a  very  strict  one, 
and  a  thorough  knowledge  was  insisted  upon.  "Schol- 
ars engaged  in  studying  Law  must  stop  for  the  read- 
ing of  Shema,  but  they  need  not  stop  for  prayer," 
Tract  Sabbath  (I,  20).  "Man  should  not  absent 
himself  from  the  house  of  learning,  even  for  one 
hour.     Man  should  never  absent  himself  from  the 


THE  ROMAN  PERIOD  95 

house  of  learning,  even  when  at  the  point  of  death," 
Tract  Sabbath  (I,  i6i).  The  explanation  was  thor- 
ough, Tract  Erubin  (III,  126  E.).  "One  shall  not 
willfully  sleep  till  past  the  hour  of  reading  the 
Shema,  for  by  doing  so  he  neglects  the  Law. 
One  should  not  make  a  practice  of  talking  to  his 
wife,  sons,  or  daughters,  when  he  is  studying  at 
home,  for  by  doing  so  he  neglects  the  Torah.  .  .  . 
One  should  not  lounge  with  idlers  in  the  market, 
lest  he  neglect  the  Torah,"  Tract  Aboth  (IX,  80, 
81).  "One  who  walks  by  the  way  and  learns,  and 
breaks  off  his  studying  and  says.  How  beautiful  is 
this  tree !  and,  How  fine  this  furrowed  field !  is  en- 
dangering his  own  life,"  Tract  Aboth  (IX,  76). 
"Never  in  my  life  came  a  man  to  the  house  of  learn- 
ing before  me,  and  I  never  slept  in  the  house  of 
learning  a  long  or  a  short  time ;  I  never  left  a  man 
in  the  house  of  learning  when  I  went  away,"  is  the 
boast  of  a  great  rabbi.  Tract  Succah  (VII,  37). 

In  regard  to  the  students  and  their  abilities,  we 
find  some  keen  observations.  "There  are  four  kinds 
of  visitors  in  the  house  of  learning:  he  that  goes  and 
does  not  practice  (i.  e.  he  accepts  the  lessons  with- 
out any  examination  or  study  of  them),  the  reward 
of  going  only  remains  with  him ;  he  that  practices 
(i.  e.  he  that  studies  at  home)  and  does  not  go,  the 
reward  of  practice  remains  with  him ;  he  that  does 
both  is  pious;  he  that  enrolls  among  the  college  vis- 


96     EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  JEWS 

itors,  but  neither  goes  not  practices,  is  wicked," 
Tract  Aboth  (IX,  131  f.).  "Gamaliel  the  Elder 
compares  disciples  to  the  following  four  kinds  of 
fish :  an  unclean,  a  clean  fish,  a  fish  found  in  the  Jor- 
dan, and  one  found  in  the  Ocean.  By  an  unclean  fish 
is  meant  a  disciple  of  poor  intellect,  who,  notwith- 
standing his  study  of  Scripture,  Mishna,  Halakhoth, 
and  Agadoth,  still  remains  poor-minded.  By  a  clean 
fish  is  meant  a  disciple  of  rich  intellect,  who  studies 
Scripture,  Mishna,  Halakhoth,  and  Agadoth,  and 
develops  his  mind.  By  the  fish  from  the  Jordan  is 
meant  a  scholar  who  has  studied  all  the  mentioned 
subjects,  but  has  not  acquired  the  faculty  of  an- 
swering questions  put  to  him.  And  by  a  fish  found 
in  the  Ocean  is  meant  a  scholar  who  studied  all  the 
above  subjects  and  has  the  ability  of  answering  the 
questions  put  to  him,"  Tract  Aboth  (IX,  138  ff.). 

The  subjects,  then,  in  which  a  Jewish  boy,  could 
expect  instruction,  were:  A  systematic,  thorough  in- 
struction in  Religion,  Reading,  Writing,  Grammar, 
Rhetoric,  Logic;  a  less  systematic,  perhaps  some- 
what insufficient  instruction  in  Philosophy,  Geogra- 
phy, History,  Geometry,  Physiology  and  Hygiene, 
Astronomy,  Zoology,  Botany,  Music,  Medicine. 
The  order  of  subjects  taught  in  the  twelfth  century 
was  as  follows:  Reading,  Writing,  Torah,  Mishna, 
Hebrew  Grammar,  Poetry,  Talmud,  Philosophy  of 
Religion,  Logic,  Arithmetic,  Geometry,  Optics,  As- 


THE  ROMAN  PERIOD  97 

tronomy,  Music,  Mechanics,  Medicine,  Metaphysics, 
This  list  is  given  only  for  the  sake  of  comparison. 

In  conclusion,  it  seems  but  fair  and  just  to  say 
that  the  comparatively  high  development  of  the 
Jewish  educational  system  has  done  much  to  give 
the  race  the  intellectual  prominence  which  it  now 
enjoys. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The  Hexaglot  Bible. 

Josephus,  Wars  of  the  Jews,  Antiquities  of  the 
Jews,  Against  Apion. 

Rodkinson's  Babylonian  Talmud. 

Hastings  Bible  Dictionary. 

Schaff-Herzog,  Encyclopedia  of  Religious  Knowl- 
edge. 

Jewish  Encyclopedia. 

Catholic  Encyclopedia. 

Matthew  Henry,  Commentary. 

Meyer,  Commentary;  Lange,  Commentary. 

Peters,  Madison  C,  Wit  and  Wisdom  of  the 
Talmud. 

Hershon,  A  Talmudic  Miscellany. 

Kent,  History  of  the  Jewish  People. 

Day,  Social  Life  of  the  Hebrews. 

Delitzsch,  Jewish  Artisan  Life  in  the  Time  ot 
Jesus. 

Leipziger,  Education  of  the  Jews. 

Schenk,  The  Sociology  of  the  Bible. 

Cheyne,  Jewish  Religious  Life  after  the  Exile. 

Kent,  Israel's  Historical  and  Biographical  Nar- 
ratives. 

Baehr,  Symbolik  des  mosaischen  Kultus. 

Goodwin,  Moses  et  Aaron  seu  Civiles  et  Eccle- 
siastici  Ritus. 

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